An Air Peace co-pilot, David Bernard, and a cabin crew member, Maduneme Victory, have shared their own side of the story, refuting the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau(NBIS) report which claimed that they tested positive for alcohol and hard drugs.
According to the NBIS investigations and report, the pilot and crew member tested positive for alcohol and marijuana after an aircraft they flew was involved in a runway incursion on Sunday, July 13, 2025.
The Air Peace aircraft had veered off the runway while landing at the Port Harcourt International Airport from Lagos.
The plane reportedly touched down 2,264 meters from the runway threshold, which is significantly outside the advised touchdown zone, and finally stopped 209 meters inside the clearway, according to the NSIB.
Although everyone on board disembarked without issue, the incident immediately sparked safety concerns.
Following this, the toxicological test results on the flight crew were positive, according to the NSIB preliminary report, which was made available to newsmen on Friday and signed by Mrs. Bimbo Oladeji, Director of Public Affairs and Family Assistance at the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau.
Tests revealed that the crew had alcohol in their blood, while another crew member tested positive for tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the active ingredient in cannabis, commonly known as “India hemp.”
In an interview with Arise Television on Friday, the indicted Air Peace employees said that the NSIB had tarnished the airline’s reputation by carrying out dubious tests at an unlicensed facility.
The co-pilot Bernard further insisted that he does not take alcohol and drugs.
“I don’t drink and secondly, we are in 2025, if you are trying to do an alcohol and blood test, we have something called the breathalyser, where you have to do your test right there. You blow in your breathe into the breathalyser. It checks the amount of alcohol in your system.
“But these guys at the Port Harcourt Airport took our blood samples and urine on the 13th and then, they are coming back on the 23rd of July with the result. I mean, how long does it take for a result to be out?
“We are in 2025 and we paid a lot of money for this flying school. You can’t just jeopardise somebody’s image, telling me I take alcohol. I didn’t see it in your presence. You took the test out to a non-aviation recognised hospital. So, it doesn’t make any sense at all. I don’t drink or smoke,” he added.
The co-pilot also stated that Air Peace airline usually conducts random tests on crew members, which always made them avoid anything that could put their jobs at risk.
Also, rejecting the test results, a crew member Victory described the development as an attempt to damage the image of the airline.
She said, “On July 13th, after we landed, we waited for NSIB to come on board. Then they came and started their investigation. And five hours later, they asked us to come into a room to do a test.
“So, we all went into the room and our blood samples were taken and our urine was also taken. Normally, when this kind of test is done, immediately after a drug test and alcohol test, you are supposed to get your results within a few hours. But this was not given to us that day. 10 days later, on the 6th, I was called by the NCAA to come and pick up a letter,” she recounted.
Victory revealed that the test results however came back as a shock to her and she visited the NCCA Lagos office to contest it.
Meanwhile, Air Peace in its reaction to the pushback, mentioned that the co- pilot had been flying ever since the event.
Air Peace reported that the co-pilot was since back on active duty after receiving clearance from the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority.
“If he were involved in drug or alcohol use, the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority would not have cleared him to resume flight duties,” the airlines noted.
Air Peace stated that it would increase the frequency of crew testing and fortify its fitness-for-duty checks and internal monitoring if the captain was eventually found to have tested positive for alcohol.
As of the time this report was filed, attempts to resolve the conflict between the NSIB’s stance and the purported NCAA clearance had not yet been successful.
Additionally, attempts to contact the NSIB spokesperson were unsuccessful since she would not return numerous calls to her phone or reply to a text message asking about the issue.
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