The family of Abimbola Ogunbanjo, the former Chairman of the Nigerian Exchange Group who died in a California helicopter crash in February, filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the US charter company Orbic Air on Wednesday.
Ogunbanjo was one of seven people killed in the February 9th crash near the Nevada border, which also claimed the lives of Access Holdings CEO Herbert Wigwe, his wife, and their son.
The Ogunbanjo family alleges that Orbic Air negligently operated the flight despite dangerous weather conditions.
According to court documents filed in San Bernardino County, California, the Ogunbanjo family claims Orbic Air should have grounded the helicopter due to a “wintry mix” of snow and rain in the Mojave Desert where the crash occurred on Feb. 9, the Press-Enterprise reports.
One of the attorneys who filed the lawsuit, Andrew C. Robb, stated they are seeking “answers and accountability” for the tragedy.
“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.”
The lawsuit seeks a jury trial for Ogunbanjo’s burial expenses, funeral expenses, and other damages. Robb & Robb, the law firm representing Ogunbanjo’s family, previously represented Vanessa Bryant in her lawsuit following Kobe Bryant’s fatal helicopter crash in 2020.
