2024 Orbic Air Eurocopter EC130 crash
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 An overview of the crash site with captions | |
| Accident | |
|---|---|
| Date | February 9, 2024 |
| Summary | Loss of control during night, spatial disorientation and poor company oversight |
| Site | |
 | |
| Aircraft | |
 N130CZ, the helicopter involved in the accident, photographed in 2017 | |
| Aircraft type | Eurocopter EC130B4 |
| Operator | Orbic Air LLC |
| Registration | N130CZ |
| Flight origin | Palm Springs International Airport, San Bernardino County, California, United States |
| Destination | Boulder City Municipal Airport, Clark County, Nevada, United States |
| Occupants | 6 |
| Passengers | 4 |
| Crew | 2 |
| Fatalities | 6 |
| Survivors | 0 |
On February 9, 2024, a Eurocopter EC130 crashed in the Mojave Desert near Nipton, California around 10:00 p.m. PST. Six people were on board, including Nigerian banker Herbert Wigwe and former Nigerian Exchange Group Plc Chairman Abimbola Ogunbanjo. There were no survivors.[1]
The helicopter involved was a Eurocopter EC130B4, MSN 4060, registered N130CZ, was built by Airbus Helicopters in 2006. It was powered by a Turbomeca Arriel 2B1 engine.[2]
Accident
The helicopter left Palm Springs International Airport in California and was flying southeast towards Boulder City, Nevada, for that year's Super Bowl in Las Vegas.[3] The weather was unfavorable, with rain and snowfall reported in the area[4]—a remote area with few light sources to aid navigation.[5] The helicopter was slowly losing height and picking up speed over the ground prior to crashing.[3]
All six people aboard the helicopter were killed, namely Herbert Wigwe, the CEO of the Nigerian banking firm Access Bank plc, his wife Doreen Chizoba Wigwe, his 29-year old son Chizi Wigwe, former Nigerian Exchange Group Plc Chairman Abimbola Ogunbanjo, and two crew members.[6]
Aftermath
The remains of Wigwe and his family were repatriated to Nigeria, where they were buried in his hometown in Isiokpo, Rivers State, on 9 March, following a week-long wake in Lagos that was attended by several prominent personalities, including billionaire and Africa's richest person Aliko Dangote.[4]
