Family of Nigerian businessman killed in California helicopter crash sues charter company
The family of a Nigerian business leader who died in a Southern California helicopter crash that killed five others filed a lawsuit Wednesday claiming the flight should have been grounded because of treacherous weather
LOS ANGELES — The family of a Nigerian business leader who died in a Southern California helicopter crash that killed five others in February filed a lawsuit Wednesday claiming the flight should have been grounded because of treacherous weather.
Relatives of Abimbola Ogunbanjo, the former chair of the Nigerian stock exchange, allege in the court filing that the charter company, Orbic Air LLC, improperly flew the helicopter despite a “wintry mix” of snowy and rainy conditions in the Mojave Desert where the crash occurred on Feb. 9.
Ogunbanjo, 61, was killed along with Herbert Wigwe, chief executive of Nigeria's Access Bank, and Wigwe's wife and 29-year-old son. Ogunbanjo was on his way to Las Vegas to attend the Super Bowl.
Both pilots — Benjamin Pettingill, 25, and Blake Hansen, 22 — also died. They were licensed as commercial helicopter pilots as well as flight instructors.
Andrew C. Robb, one of the attorneys who filed the lawsuit, said 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 children filed the suit in San Bernardino County Superior Court on Wednesday against Orbic Air and its CEO, Brady Bowers, alleging wrongful death and negligence.
The suit also names the unidentified successors of Pettingill and Hansen, whom Ogunbanjo’s family also faults.
Orbic Air did not reply to an email and phone call
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