Access Bank’s CEO Herbert Wigwe, wife, 5 others die in California helicopter crash

A chopper transporting Herbert Wigwe, the CEO of Access Bank and Access Holdings, has crashed with him and about five others aboard in California, United States.

American news outlet CBS reported that Wigwe’s wife, son and Abimbola Ogunbanjo, a former chair of Nigerian Exchange Group also died in the crash.

The chopper was headed to Las Vegas when it crashed Friday night near Nipton, between Nevada and California.

United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in a statement confirmed all onboard are dead.

FAA said no survivors had been found as of Saturday.

“We were made aware of a downed aircraft at approximately 10:12 p.m., on February 10, 2024. The scene of the crash was determined to be east of the 15-Freeway, near Halloran Springs Road,” the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department said in a statement.

FAA identified the aircraft as a Eurocopter EC 130 helicopter. It was registered to a Burbank-based tour company called Orbic Air.

The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the cause of the crash at the time of filing this report.