The Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB) has indicted an Air Peace pilot and Co-pilot for taking alcohol and a cabin crew member for also testing positive for THC, the psychoactive component in cannabis.
The preliminary reports say toxicological test results conducted on the flight crew turned out positive.
The bureau noted that these toxicology results are being assessed within the scope of human performance and safety management, both critical factors in aviation incident investigations.
The Air Peace crew tested positive for the substances after the aircraft they flew was involved in a runway excursion at the Port Harcourt International Airport on July 13, 2025.
This was contained in a preliminary report signed by the Director of Public Affairs and Family Assistance at Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau, Mrs Bimbo Olawumi Oladeji, made available to The PUNCH 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 NSIB report, the pilots who were flying an Air Peace Boeing 737 aircraft were involved in a serious incident while carrying 103 passengers.
The NSIB said, “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 has issued immediate safety recommendations for Air Peace Limited to strengthen crew resource management training, particularly in handling unstabilised approaches and go-around decisions, and to reinforce internal procedures for crew fitness-for-duty monitoring before flight dispatch.
Toxicological test was conducted on the flight crew at Rivers state hospital management, department of medical laboratory, Port Harcourt, on 13th July 2025.
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