The household of a Nigerian enterprise chief who died in a helicopter crash in Southern California in February has filed a lawsuit claiming that the flight ought to have been grounded attributable to treacherous climate situations. The lawsuit alleges that the constitution firm, Orbic Air LLC, improperly flew the helicopter regardless of snowy and wet climate situations within the Mojave Desert the place the crash occurred. The crash resulted within the deaths of six folks, together with Abimbola Ogunbanjo, the previous chair of the Nigerian inventory trade, Herbert Wigwe, chief government of Nigeria’s Entry Financial institution, and their members of the family. The lawsuit additionally names the pilots, Benjamin Pettingill and Blake Hansen, who had been each licensed business helicopter pilots and flight instructors.
Andrew C. Robb, one of many attorneys representing Ogunbanjo’s household, acknowledged that the flight was preventable and that helicopters don’t carry out properly in snowy and icy situations. The household is searching for solutions and accountability relating to the crash. The lawsuit, filed in San Bernardino County Superior Court docket, alleges wrongful demise and negligence in opposition to Orbic Air and its CEO, Brady Bowers, in addition to the successors of the pilots concerned within the crash. Orbic Air has not responded to requests for remark, and the Nationwide Transportation Security Board remains to be investigating the reason for the crash.
In keeping with a preliminary investigation report launched by the Nationwide Transportation Security Board in February, the helicopter’s flight path and particulars concerning the wreckage had been outlined. The report revealed that the fuselage was fragmented and the cockpit and cabin had been destroyed. Harm to the engine and steel deposits discovered on the crash website recommended that the engine was operational on the time of the crash. Witnesses touring on Interstate 15 reported seeing a fireball to the south, indicating the crash had occurred in wet and snowy situations. The helicopter had departed from Palm Springs Airport and was en path to Boulder Metropolis, Nevada, close to Las Vegas, the place the Tremendous Bowl was happening.
The lawsuit seeks a jury trial and consists of requests for cost of burial and funeral bills for Ogunbanjo, in addition to different damages. Robb’s legislation agency, Robb and Robb LLC, represented Kobe Bryant’s widow, Vanessa Bryant, in a lawsuit in opposition to the pilot and homeowners of the helicopter that crashed in Calabasas in 2020, ensuing within the deaths of Kobe Bryant, his daughter, and 7 others. The lawsuit was settled in 2021 for an undisclosed quantity. The tragic helicopter crash in Southern California has raised questions concerning the decision-making of the constitution firm, Orbic Air, in flying the helicopter in hostile climate situations, ensuing within the deaths of six people, together with distinguished Nigerian enterprise leaders and their members of the family. The lawsuit filed by Ogunbanjo’s household seeks accountability and solutions relating to the preventable crash and the actions taken by Orbic Air.