LOS ANGELES — A helicopter carrying the CEO of one of Nigeria’s largest banks and five others left a shallow crater and a trail of debris when it crashed in Southern California’s Mojave Desert earlier this month, according to investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board.
The agency released a preliminary investigation report into the deadly Feb. 9 crash on Friday. The report traces the flight path over a remote stretch of desert on a rainy night and details wreckage strewn across 300 feet (91.44 meters) of desert scrub. However, the possible cause of the helicopter crash was not discussed.
Flight tracking data analyzed by investigators shows that the helicopter was flying in a southeasterly direction before the crash, gradually descending in altitude and increasing in ground speed.
Investigators found the fuselage fragmented and the cockpit and cabin destroyed. Damage to the engine and metal deposits found indicate that it was operational at the time of the crash.
Quoting law enforcement authorities, the report said several witnesses driving in vehicles along Interstate 15 called 911 to report seeing a “fireball” to the south. Witnesses reported rain and a mix of snow.
Two aviation experts who reviewed photos and videos previously released by the NTSB said the flight likely should have been canceled due to poor overnight weather conditions.
Herbert Wigwe, CEO of Access Bank, and his wife and 29-year-old son were among those on board the helicopter. Bamofin Abimbola Ogunbanjo, former chairman of the Nigerian Stock Exchange, was also killed.
Both pilots – Benjamin Pettingill, 25, and Blake Hansen, 22 – also died. They were licensed as commercial helicopter pilots and as flight instructors.
The helicopter left Palm Springs Airport on Feb. 9 around 8:45 p.m. and was headed to Boulder City, Nevada, about 25 miles southeast of Las Vegas, where the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers were based. to play in Super Bowl 58 that Sunday. Wigwe’s destination after the plane landed has not been confirmed.
The charter company Orbic Air LLC previously declined to comment and did not immediately return an email message left Saturday by The Associated Press.
Flight data shows the helicopter followed the highway until it made a gentle right turn south of the roadway, where it then gradually descended and increased in speed, the NTSB said.
The wreck site shows that the helicopter hit the ground with the nose low in a corner of the right bank. In addition to the fire, witnesses also reported downed power lines, the NTSB said.
Cutting the power lines, which may have been difficult for the pilot to see in the dark, could have caused the crash, said Al Diehl, a former NTSB investigator.
The agency’s investigation is ongoing.