Leadnaija
The Federal Government of Nigeria, through the Nigeria Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB), has disagreed with the official report released by the United States National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) on the helicopter crash that killed former Access Holdings CEO, Herbert Wigwe, his wife, son, and three others.
The NSIB, in a statement issued on Wednesday by its spokesperson Mrs. Bimbo Oladeji, rejected the idea that the pilot alone should be blamed for the crash. The bureau argued that the system around the flight also failed to prevent the tragedy.
“It appears there were systemic issues, and the flight risk assessment should have indicated a higher risk. While it’s easy to blame the pilot, there is a system behind the pilot that should have mitigated these risks,” the NSIB stated.
The helicopter crash occurred earlier this year in the United States.
The NTSB, in its final report released over a week ago, cited “pilot disorientation” and violation of flight protocols, especially flying under visual flight rules in bad weather conditions, as the main causes of the crash.
The NSIB, however, clarified that it did not jointly investigate the crash with the American agency, despite being updated throughout the process.
“The NSIB did not work side-by-side with the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board,” the statement said.
“We were an interested party, and were kept abreast of the process by the NTSB, who led the investigation in the U.S.”
