Wigwe
Crash Was No Freak Accident – NSIB Blames “Poor Safety
Culture” for Fatal Helicopter Tragedy
The skies
should never have turned fatal that night.
Now, the Nigerian
Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB) has spoken and their verdict is chilling:
the tragic helicopter crash that killed Access Holdings CEO Herbert Wigwe, his
wife, son, and NSE chairman Abimbola Ogunbanjo, was not just misfortune it was preventable
corporate failure.
The Report: Safety Corners Were Cut
According
to the NSIB’s preliminary findings:
- The operating company had a
weak safety culture - Protocols were poorly
enforced - Risk awareness was low
- Oversight mechanisms were
either missing or ignored
Translation?
High-profile lives flew on low-altitude standards.
Not Just a Crash: A Systems Breakdown
The
February 2024 crash in
the U.S. that shook the Nigerian financial elite wasn’t due to bad weather
alone. The NSIB emphasised that:
- Routine checks weren’t standardised
- Pilot preparedness was
questionable - Emergency procedures lacked
consistency
The Fallout: When Boardroom Legends Fall from the
Sky
Herbert
Wigwe wasn’t just a CEO. He was:
- A generational banker
- A Fintech investor
- A reform-minded leader
His loss and
that of Abimbola Ogunbanjo sent shockwaves through the corridors of African
capital markets.
And now
we know: this wasn’t fate. This was negligence wearing a headset.
Financial Juggernut Insight
In
private aviation, prestige often replaces protocol and that’s deadly.
This
tragedy must force a rethink:
- For corporate boards: Demand
safety audits - For aviation firms: Build
compliance into your brand - For regulators: Enforce.
Don’t assume.
