Preliminary information from ongoing investigations into the helicopter crash that killed Dr Herbert Wigwe, CFR, the founding Group CEO of Access Holdings, his wife, Doreen, and son, Chizi, suggests that rainy weather played a significant role in the tragic accident.
According to Access Holdings, Dr Herbert Wigwe, his wife, son, and others flew to the United States from Nigeria to watch the Super Bowl in Las Vegas. However, the Vegas airport was already overcrowded with private planes arriving from all over the United States, so they were forced to land in Palm Springs, California, because his private jet could not obtain a landing permit in Las Vegas.
Dr. Herbert Wigwe chose to use a helicopter despite the terrible rainy weather that was in place at the time, which led to the tragic incident, because it was only about a two and a half hour drive from Palm Springs, where they had landed, to the Super Bowl venue.
Assess Holdings confirmed the tragic incident with a statement signed by Sunday Ekwochi, the Group Company Secretary. The statement read, “The Board of Directors of Access Holdings Plc announces with deep sadness the passing of Dr. Herbert Wigwe, CFR, the company’s founding Group Chief Executive Officer and former Group Managing Director of its flagship subsidiary Access Bank Plc.”
On Friday, February 9, 2024, Dr. Wigwe passed away in a helicopter accident in the United States of America, along with his wife and son. The passing of Herbert, Doreen, and Chizi is mourned by the whole Access Family.
We send our sincere condolences to his family and other cherished ones. Since joining the bank in 2002, Dr. Wigwe has been a major motivator and a larger-than-life character who has contributed his extraordinary passion, energy, and experience to the transformation of the Access franchise, according to the statement released by Assess Holdings.
