Reports have revealed that the Aircraft model, Eurocopter EC 130B4, which crashed and k!lled the CEO of Access Holdings Plc, Herbert Wigwe, his wife, son and three others crashed 5 times in 2023.
Wigwe d!ed when the aircraft crashed on Friday, February 9, in California, United States
His wife, son and the Group Chairman of Nigerian Exchange Group Plc (NGX Group), Abimbola Ogunbanjo were also k!lled.
However, a report from The Nation has traced the history of the Eurocopter EC 130 to several fatal accidents.
The aircraft model which is manufactured by Airbus Helicopters SAS (formerly Eurocopter), the single-engine aircraft and its variations have a long history of accidents.
Crash counts:
1. In December 1, 2023, the Eurocopter EC 130B4 suffered a crash which struck power cables during takeoff and crashed into a ball of flames near Ex Hacienda el Hospital, Cuautla, Morelos in Mexico. 3 people d!ed in the accident, and it was the last of 11 crashes involving Airbus models in 2023.
2. In 2018, the same aircraft model crashed in the Grand Canyon and claimed the lives of 5 people.
3. In 2018, another crash involving Eurocopter EC 130B4 k!lled 5 people, all of them Britons, in the Grand Canyon.
Two brothers, Stuart and Jason Hill, 30 and 32, were among the dead. Stuart Hill’s girlfriend Becky Dobson was also k!lled in the crash. The 3 were pronounced dead at the scene.
The aircraft burst into flames after crashing. The pilot told American investigators that the helicopter encountered a “violent gust of wind” and started spinning.
4. In January 2023, 2 EC130B4s operated by Sea World Helicopters collided in Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia, k!lling 4 people and injuring 8.
Following these accidents, it is now required that all helicopter fuel tanks be shielded from fuel tank rupture on impact.