Mr Olusola Faleye, the personal assistant to the late Chief Executive Officer of Access Holdings, Herbert Wgwe, was reportedly declined to board the ill fated helicopter with his boss and others, to their supposed destination that never was.
Mr Wigwe, along his wife, Chiboza, son and bosom friend, Abimbola Ogunbawo lost their lives in a tragic helicopter crash occured at Boulder City in Nevada, United States of America.
Mr Faleye, whose name was on the manifest, escaped death miraculously as he opted to travel by road.
It was reported that Olusola flew with Wigwe, his wife, son and former Group Chairman of Nigerian Exchange Group Plc (NGX Group), Abimbola Ogunbanjo from London, United Kingdom to Palm Springs, California, United States.
But on getting to Palm Springs, Olusola declined to board the ill-fated flight going to Boulder City in Nevada, insisting that he would not travel by helicopter at night due to the weather conditions.
Meanwhile, Michael Graham, a Board Member of NTSB, on Sunday morning told the newsmen that the Airbus, EC130 helicopter departed Palm Springs, California enroute to Boulder in Nevada at 8.45 pm on Friday.
“At about 10.8pm, the helicopter impacted Halloran Springs, California. Halloran Springs is about 75 miles northeast Boston. Two crew members and four passengers were aboard and were fatally injured,” Graham explained.
“This is the beginning of a long process; we will not jump into any conclusion, and the information that I provide for you tonight is preliminary. A preliminary report will be available in a couple of weeks and however, a full NTSB investigation will be made and investigations will last between 24 months before the final report is published.
“Additional details about the accident include: the crew consisted of a pilot -in- command and a safety pilot; the accident flight was operated by Woebeck Air LSC, as a charter flight. Witness reports of the weather conditions at the time of the flight suggest rain and a wintery mist. The helicopter was not equipped with a voice recorder or a data recorder. This helicopter was not required to be equipped with those kinds of devices.
“We are aware of media reports of down power lines near the accident site; we will be looking into this report during our on-the-scene investigative phase of this investigation. Several NTSB investigators will be examining the following areas: airworthiness to include maintenance instructions of the helicopter, operations, meteorology and aero traffic control,” he explained.
He expressed NTSB’s deepest sympathy to the families and loved ones of those who lost their lives in the terrible tragedy.
