Federal investigators are looking into weather conditions, reports of downed power lines near the crash site and other possible factors that may have caused a helicopter crash in San Bernardino County that killed six people, including the CEO of one of the largest banks in Nigeria.
“There were several calls to 911 reporting the accident” from motorists along Interstate 15, National Transportation Safety Board member Michael Graham said during a news conference Saturday. He asked witnesses who had seen the crash or who had photos or videos of the incident to contact the agency at [email protected].
The single-engine Airbus EC 130 helicopter crashed near Halloran Springs in the Mojave Desert, about 75 miles northeast of Barstow, shortly after 10 p.m. Friday, Graham said. The charter helicopter, operated by Orbic Air LLC of Burbank, took off from Palm Springs International Airport at 8:45 p.m. and was headed to Boulder City, Nevada, Graham said.
Some witnesses said the crash occurred during weather conditions they described as “rain and a wintry mix,” he said. Investigators, she said, are also “aware of some media reports of downed power lines near the crash site. “We will examine these reports.”
Additionally, Graham said investigators would examine the helicopter's airworthiness, maintenance records and air traffic control operations to see if any of these areas could have been a factor in the crash.
All six people on board were killed, including two crew members and four passengers, he said. The San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department said Saturday that the identities of those killed in the crash were being withheld pending notification of next of kin.
But Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, a prominent Nigerian-American economist and director-general of the World Trade Organization, identified one of the victims as Herbert Wigwe, the 57-year-old chief executive of Access Bank, one of the largest financial institutions in Nigeria.
In a publication On Some outlets reported that the family planned to attend Sunday's Super Bowl game in Las Vegas.
The NTSB and the Federal Aviation Administration are investigating the crash. The helicopter was not required to have a cockpit voice recorder or flight data recorder and did not have either, Graham said.
“This is the beginning of a long process,” he said, adding that “a preliminary report will be available in a few weeks.”
