The family of the deceased former Chairman of the Nigerian Exchange Group, Abimbola Ogunbanjo, who was killed in a Southern California helicopter crash in February had filed a suit on Wednesday, April 10, against the US helicopter company.
Dr Herbert Wigwe, who had been the Chief Executive Officer of Access Holdings at the time of his death had also been onboard the ill-fated helicopter.
According to the Ogunbanjo family, the flight should have been grounded because of the perilous weather.
The Press Enterprise reports that Ogunbanjo’s relatives had in the court filing on Wednesday claimed that the charter company, Orbic Air, mistakenly flew the helicopter despite a “wintry mix” of snowy and rainy conditions in the Mojave Desert where the crash happened on February 9.
One of the attorneys who filed the lawsuit, Andrew C. Robb, had said that Ogunbanjo’s family is seeking “answers and accountability.”
Robb had said to the Associated Press that Helicopters generally do not do well in snow and ice conditions.
“This flight was entirely preventable, and we don’t know why they took off,” he said.
Ogunbanjo’s wife and two children have filed a lawsuit in San Bernardino County Superior Court against Orbic Air and its CEO, Brady Bowers, claiming wrongful death and negligence.
The suit also includes the unnamed successors of Pettingill and Hansen, whom Ogunbanjo’s family holds responsible.
Orbic Air has yet to make any comment on the matter.
The National Transportation Safety Board is at present, investigating the crash.
A preliminary investigation report released by the agency in February had disclosed details about the helicopter’s flight path and wreckage.
