Air Peace reacts as NSIB report says airline crew tests positive for alcohol, drug

By Omodele Adigun

Air Peace has denied allegations in a purported Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB) preliminary report regarding an incident involving one of its aircraft at Port Harcourt on July 13, 2025.

The report had indicted an Air Peace pilot and a Co-pilot for taking hard drugs and alcohol.

The allegation was contained in a preliminary report signed by the Director of Public Affairs and Family Assistance at the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau, Bimbo Olawumi Oladeji, on Friday.

It will be recalled that an Air Peace aircraft, on a Sunday morning of 13th July, had a runway excursion after landing at the Port Harcourt International Airport.

The aircraft veered off the runway without any damage.

According to the report, “Initial toxicological tests conducted on the flight crew revealed positive results for certain substances, including indicators of alcohol consumption. A cabin crew member also tested positive for THC, the psychoactive component in cannabis. These results are being reviewed under the human performance and safety management components of the investigation.”

However, the management of the airline, in a response on Friday, claimed it has not received any official communication from NSIB on the findings, raising questions about the accuracy of the report.

According to Air Peace, the captain of the affected flight was grounded for failure to adhere to Crew Resource Management principles, not for testing positive to a breathalyzer test.

The airline emphasized its commitment to safety, transparency, and compliance, highlighting its strict alcohol and drug policy.

The statement read partly, “Air Peace conducts frequent alcohol and drug tests on our crew. We have a very strict alcohol use policy that is stricter than the 8 hours before the flight as provided in the regulations. Drug use is a NO-NO!

“Following the incident, we took immediate and decisive action:

“The captain of the affected flight was immediately grounded and relieved from further flight duties to date for failure to adhere to Crew Resource Management (CRM) principles and for disregarding standard go-around procedures as advised by his co-pilot but not for testing positive to a breathalyser test as the result was not communicated to us by NSIB to date.

“Contrary to reports in the media, the First Officer(Co-pilot), who demonstrated professionalism in calling for a go-around to his captain, has been reinstated into active flying duties, with full approval from the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA). The NCAA cleared him. If he was involved in drug or alcohol use, the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority would not have cleared him to resume flight duties.

“However, if the sacked captain tested positive to the breathalyser test, then we must increase the frequency of our alcohol and drug tests on our crew.”

In addition, the airline pledged to intensify strict Fitness-for-Duty checks and Stronger Internal Monitoring to prevent any breach of its “zero-tolerance safety policy”.