A co-pilot with Air Peace, David Bernard, and a cabin crew member, Maduneme Victory, have faulted a preliminary report by the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB), which alleged that they tested positive for alcohol and marijuana following a runway incursion involving an Air Peace aircraft on July 13, 2025.
The incident occurred when the aircraft veered off the runway while landing at the Port Harcourt International Airport, touching down 2,264 metres from the threshold—well beyond the recommended zone—before coming to a stop 209 metres into the clearway. All passengers disembarked safely, but the report raised immediate safety concerns.
In its findings, the NSIB, citing toxicological tests conducted at the Rivers State Hospital Management Department of Medical Laboratory, Port Harcourt, said the flight crew tested positive for alcohol, while one crew member tested positive for tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the active compound in cannabis.
However, in separate interviews on Arise Television on Friday, Bernard and Victory rejected the findings, describing the tests as “questionable” and carried out at an “unregistered centre” in a bid to tarnish the image of the airline.
Bernard insisted he neither drinks alcohol nor takes drugs, questioning the integrity of the testing process.
“We are in 2025, and if you are doing an alcohol test, it should be a breathalyser on the spot. Instead, they took blood and urine on July 13 and came back with results 10 days later. That doesn’t make sense. I don’t drink or smoke,” he said.
Victory, on her part, said she was shocked by the outcome, noting that a subsequent confirmatory test at a licensed aviation medical facility came out negative.
“If marijuana was found in my system, they should have informed my airline and grounded me immediately, because I’d be a risk to passengers. But they didn’t, until two months later. This looks like a smear campaign. This is defamation of character,” she said, threatening legal action if the report is not withdrawn.
Meanwhile, NSIB Director-General, Captain Alex Badeh, dismissed the allegations, stressing that the bureau only relied on official hospital results.
“NSIB does not conduct tests. The toxicology was carried out by Rivers State Hospital Management, and the report came out the next day. We had to investigate other aspects before publishing our findings,” he explained.
Air Peace has also accused the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) of failing to properly manage communication on the test results, a development it said has unnecessarily damaged the reputation of its staff.
The NSIB is expected to release a final report after concluding its full investigation.
