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By Lizzy Chirkpi
The Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB) has indicted an Air Peace pilot, co-pilot, and a cabin crew member after toxicological tests confirmed the presence of alcohol and hard drugs in their systems.
The revelation followed an incident involving an Air Peace Boeing 737 aircraft, which veered off the runway at the Port Harcourt International Airport on July 13, 2025.
According to the NSIB’s preliminary report, signed by the Director of Public Affairs and Family Assistance, Mrs Bimbo Olawumi Oladeji, and released on Friday, the intoxication of crew members has now been added to the list of factors responsible for runway incursions.
“The aircraft, operating as a scheduled domestic flight from Lagos to Port Harcourt with 103 persons on board, landed long on Runway 21 after an unstabilised final approach. The aircraft touched down 2,264 metres from the runway threshold and came to a final stop 209 metres into the clearway. All passengers and crew disembarked safely, and no injuries were reported,” the NSIB said.
The bureau explained that the aircraft landed well beyond the recommended touchdown zone after an unstable approach, before finally coming to rest in the clearway. Though no lives were lost, the development raised urgent safety concerns within the aviation sector.
Toxicological tests conducted on the crew at the Rivers State Hospital Management Department of Medical Laboratory in Port Harcourt revealed that the captain and first officer tested positive for Ethyl Glucuronide, a marker for recent alcohol consumption, while a cabin crew member tested positive for Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the psychoactive compound in cannabis.
“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,” the bureau noted.
The NSIB added that it had issued immediate safety recommendations to Air Peace, directing the airline to strengthen crew resource management training, particularly in handling unstabilised approaches and go-around decisions, as well as reinforce internal monitoring procedures to ensure crew fitness-for-duty before flight dispatch.