NTSB determines pilot's inadequate training caused helicopter crash killing billionaire Petr Kellner

The March 2021 helicopter crash that killed Czech billionaire Petr Kellner and four others in Alaska was likely caused by pilot error and inadequate training, Reuters reported on Thursday, citing a report by the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). The NTSB determined that the probable cause of the accident was "the pilot's failure to adequately respond to an encounter with whiteout conditions, which resulted in the helicopter's collision with terrain." The operator's inadequate pilot training program and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) principal operations inspector's "insufficient oversight of the operator" also contributed to the accident, the NTSB report said.

Kellner, who was Czechia's richest man at the time of the crash, was the founder of the investment group PPF and had amassed wealth estimated at $17.5 billion at the time of his death, according to Forbes. He was the world's 68th richest person on Forbes' 2020 list, tied with media giant Rupert Murdoch and his family.

Kellner's family filed a lawsuit in April for a probe into potential negligence that caused the deadly crash.