The family of Abimbola Ogunbanjo, late former Chairman of the Nigerian Exchange Group, who was killed, alongside Herbert Wigwe, former Access Bank Holdings CEO, his wife Chizoba and son Chizitere, in a Southern California helicopter crash in February, has filed a lawsuit against the US helicopter company.
The Ogunbanjo family argues that the flight should have been grounded because of treacherous weather.
In February, Wigwe, his wife and his son died following a helicopter crash in California near the Nevada border, United States of America.
The family of Ogunbanjo in the court filing on Wednesday claimed that the charter company, Orbic Air, improperly flew the helicopter despite a “wintry mix” of snowy and rainy conditions in the Mojave Desert where the crash occurred on Feb. 9, the Press Enterprise reports.
One of the attorneys who filed the lawsuit, Andrew C. Robb, noted Ogunbanjo’s family is seeking “answers and accountability.”
“Helicopters do not do very well in snow and ice,” Robb told The Associated Press. “This flight was entirely preventable, and we don’t know why they took off."
Ogunbanjo’s wife and two childre filed the lawsuit in San Bernardino County Superior Court against Orbic Air and its CEO, Brady Bowers, alleging wrongful death and negligence.
The suit also includes the unidentified successors of Pettingill and Hansen, whom Ogunbanjo’s family holds responsible. Orbic Air did not provide any comment on the matter.
The National Transportation Safety Board is currently investigating the crash.
A preliminary investigation report released by the agency in February revealed details about the helicopter’s flight path and wreckage.
Witnesses reported observing a “fireball” during rainy and snowy conditions at the time of the crash.
The lawsuit seeks a jury trial for Ogunbanjo’s burial expenses, funeral expenses, and other damages. Robb & Robb, the law firm representing Ogunbanjo’s family, previously represented Vanessa Bryant in her lawsuit following Kobe Bryant’s fatal helicopter crash in 2020.
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