Top Nigerian banker, family, killed in helicopter crash in Mojave Desert

A top Nigerian banker and his family were among six people killed when their passenger helicopter crashed in the Mojave Desert on Friday night.

“No survivors have been located,” said San Bernardino County Sheriff’s officials on Saturday.

The identities of those killed will be officially released by the sheriff’s coroner’s division once positive identification has been made and next of kin have been notified, authorities said.

On Feb. 13, the sheriff's coroner's office released the names of those killed in the aviation crash as:

• Blake R. Hansen, 22, of Moorpark, California

• Benjamin D. Pettingill, 25, of Camarillo, California

• Herbert O. Wigwe, 57, of Lagos, Nigeria

• Doreen C. Wigwe, 56, of Lagos, Nigeria

• Herbert C. Wigwe, 29, of Lagos, Nigeria

• Abimbola O. Ogunbanjo, 61, of Lagos, Nigeria

Nigerian banker, family

Herbert Wigwe, 57, the CEO of one of Nigeria's largest banks, was among those killed in the helicopter crash, the Associated Press reported.

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the director general of the World Trade Organization, said in a post on X, that Wigwe, the top leader of the Lagos-based Access Bank, was on board the helicopter with his wife and son, whose names were not mentioned.

A fourth passenger, Bamofin Abimbola Ogunbanjo, was among the dead. He is the former chair of NGX Group, the Nigerian stock exchange, the AP reported.

At a news conference on Saturday night, National Transportation Safety Board member Michael Graham had confirmed all six people on board —  the pilot-in-command, a safety pilot and the four passengers — were killed, though he gave no names.

The agency is investigating what caused the helicopter to crash.

Downed aircraft

First responders were notified at 10:12 p.m. on Friday of a downed aircraft east of Interstate 15 near Halloran Springs Road.

The area is located east of Barstow, between Baker and the California-Nevada state border.

A preliminary report from the Federal Aviation Administration showed a Eurocopter EC-130 that departed Palm Springs around 8:45 p.m. was bound for Boulder City, Nevada, when it crashed about an hour later.

Boulder City is about 26 miles southeast of Las Vegas, where the Kansas City Chiefs and the San Francisco 49ers are set to play in Super Bowl LVIII on Sunday.

The downed helicopter is registered to a Burbank-area tour company called Orbic Air, NBC reported.

Airbus’ single-engine H130, previously known as the EC130 T2, is widely used with sightseeing services, charter operators, and emergency medical services, among others, according to Airbus.com.

Investigation, 'a long process'

Witnesses reported that it was raining with a “wintry mix” at the time of the crash, according to Graham. People also reported a fire on the helicopter plus some downed power lines, the AP reported.

“This is the beginning of a long process. We will not jump to any conclusions,” Graham said during the news conference Saturday night. He also “expressed our deepest sympathies to the families and loved ones of those who lost their lives in this terrible tragedy.”

The incident marks the second fatal helicopter crash in California in less than a week after five Marines were killed when their aircraft went down while returning from a training exercise last Tuesday.

This story is developing and will be updated as more information becomes available.

Daily Press reporter Rene Ray De La Cruz may be reached at 760-951-6227 or RDeLaCruz@VVDailyPress.com. Follow him on Twitter @DP_ReneDeLaCruz.

This article originally appeared on Victorville Daily Press: Top Nigerian banker, family, killed in helicopter crash in Mojave Desert