LOS ANGELES — The household of a Nigerian enterprise chief who died in a Southern California helicopter crash that killed 5 others in February filed a lawsuit Wednesday claiming the flight ought to have been grounded due to treacherous climate.
Family of Abimbola Ogunbanjo, the previous chair of the Nigerian inventory trade, allege within the courtroom submitting that the constitution firm, Orbic Air LLC, improperly flew the helicopter regardless of a “wintry combine” of snowy and wet situations within the Mojave Desert the place the crash occurred on Feb. 9.
Ogunbanjo, 61, was killed together with Herbert Wigwe, chief government of Nigeria’s Entry Financial institution, and Wigwe’s spouse and 29-year-old son. Ogunbanjo was on his option to Las Vegas to attend the Tremendous Bowl.
Each pilots — Benjamin Pettingill, 25, and Blake Hansen, 22 — additionally died. They have been licensed as industrial helicopter pilots in addition to flight instructors.
“This tragedy was totally preventable,” stated Andrew C. Robb, one of many attorneys who filed the lawsuit, in a information launch. “Snow and ice are very harmful for helicopter flight, and this firm ought to have recognized higher.”
Ogunbanjo’s spouse and two kids filed the swimsuit in San Bernardino County Superior Courtroom on Wednesday in opposition to Orbic Air and its CEO, Brady Bowers, alleging wrongful loss of life and negligence.
The swimsuit additionally names the unidentified successors of Pettingill and Hansen, whom Ogunbanjo’s household additionally faults.
Orbic Air didn’t reply to an electronic mail and cellphone name searching for remark.
The Nationwide Transportation Security Board remains to be investigating the reason for the crash. In February, the company launched a preliminary investigation report that outlined the helicopter’s flight path and offered particulars about wreckage that was strewn throughout 100 yards (91 meters) of desert scrub.
Investigators discovered the fuselage was fragmented, and the cockpit and cabin have been destroyed. Injury to the engine and the metallic deposits that have been discovered would point out that it was operational on the time of the crash.
The report cited regulation enforcement, saying a number of witnesses who have been touring in automobiles alongside Interstate 15 had known as 911 to report observing a “fireball” to the south. The witnesses reported that it was raining with a mixture of snow.
The helicopter left Palm Springs Airport round 8:45 p.m. on Feb. 9 and was touring to Boulder Metropolis, Nevada, which is about 26 miles (40 kilometers) southeast of Las Vegas, the place the Kansas Metropolis Chiefs and the San Francisco 49ers have been set to play that Sunday in Tremendous Bowl 58.
The lawsuit seeks fee for Ogunbanjo’s burial and funeral bills, in addition to different damages.
“Our purchasers search solutions and accountability from the helicopter operator that was accountable for the passengers’ security,” Robb stated within the information launch. “On behalf of the good many lives that Mr. Ogunbanjo impacted, our purchasers need to be certain that that this firm’s careless operations don’t damage anybody else sooner or later.”
