Maduneme Victory, a member of the cabin crew, and co-pilot David Bernard have denied a Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB) report that they tested positive for both alcohol and a hard substance.
After their plane was engaged in a runway incursion on Sunday, July 13, 2025, the pilot and a crew member tested positive for both alcohol and marijuana, according to the accident investigators.
While landing at Port Harcourt International Airport, the Air Peace plane had swerved off the runway.
According to the NSIB, the plane landed 2,264 meters from the runway threshold—much beyond than the advised landing zone—and finally stopped 209 meters into the clearway.
The event caused immediate safety concerns, even though everyone on board disembarked safely.
The improper or unapproved placement of an aircraft on the runway is known as an aircraft incursion. Among other things, poor communication, errors, malfunctioning equipment, and runway potholes are the main causes of incursions.
According to the NSIB preliminary report, which was signed by Mrs. Bimbo Oladeji, the Director of Public Affairs and Family Assistance at the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau, the flight crew’s toxicological test findings were positive.
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.”
“The flight crew’s initial toxicological tests showed positive results for certain substances, including indicators of alcohol consumption,” the statement added. Additionally, a member of the cabin crew tested positive for THC, the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana. The investigation’s safety management and human performance components are reviewing these findings.
On July 13, 2025, the aircraft crew had a toxicological test at the medical laboratory section of Rivers State Hospital Management in Port Harcourt, and they tested positive for a number of chemicals. Following the event, toxicological screening showed that the captain and first officer had recently consumed alcohol, as evidenced by positive Ethyl Glucuronide test results.
Air peace Co-pilot, crew member kick
In an interview with Arise Television on Friday, the indicted airline employees said that the NSIB had tarnished the airline’s reputation by carrying out dubious tests at an unlicensed facility.
Bernard, the co-pilot, maintained that he does not use drugs or alcohol.
In addition to the fact that I don’t drink, in 2025, if you want to perform a blood and alcohol test, you have to complete the breathalyser test there. The breathalyser is activated by blowing in your breath. It determines how much alcohol is in your system.
However, these individuals at the Port Harcourt Airport collected our urine and blood samples on the 13th, and they will return with the results on the 23rd of July. How long does it take to release a result, after all?
“This flying school cost a lot of money, and we are in 2025. You can’t simply ruin someone’s reputation by claiming that I drink. I didn’t notice it when you were around. You took the test out to a non-aviation recognised hospital. Therefore, it is completely nonsensical. “I don’t smoke or drink,” he declared.
According to the co-pilot, the airline frequently tested crew members at random, forcing them to stay away from anything that would jeopardise their jobs.
“You don’t just take anything because you can be randomly checked when reporting for duty,” he continued. Additionally, you are not allowed to consume alcohol eight hours prior to reporting for duty or standby, nor are you allowed to have 0.02 grammes of alcohol in your blood.
Victory also criticised the test findings, calling the development an effort to damage the airline’s reputation.
After we landed on July 13th, we waited for NSIB to board,” she stated. After that, they arrived and began their inquiry. They then ordered us to enter a room to take a test five hours later.
We all entered the room, and samples of our blood and urine were collected. Results from this type of test are typically expected to be available within a few hours of the drug and alcohol tests being completed. However, we weren’t provided this that day. She recalled, “The NCAA called me ten days later, on the sixth, to come and pick up a letter.”
According to her, the letter came as a shock.
When I saw the mail after attending the NCAA in Lagos, I was completely taken aback by my results. I therefore went to the doctor. I told the doctor that I couldn’t possibly have this in my system and that I was startled to see it in my results. He also instructed me to return in seven days to react to their letter, but I didn’t wait; I had to do so on the seventh.
On the 27th, they contacted me to let me know that I should visit the office. When I arrived at the office, I was given a letter requesting that I do a re-confirmatory exam. I agreed to do so, and I was then instructed to go to Dr. Adetunji of Aero Space Clinic, which is the authorised facility for this type of test.
The doctor informed me during our consultation that marijuana often remains in the body for ninety days. If I have something like this, he’s telling me to go and return later when I feel like I’ve let everything out of my system. I responded no; in fact, it would demonstrate that I have this type of substance in my system if I went back and returned later. I’d like to take the test.
“The test was completed, and the results were negative. If marijuana was discovered in my system, should the NSIB have informed my airline and prevented me from flying? That is the question I need to ask them.
“Why? as my licence would have been revoked and I pose a risk to the other passengers. However, it wasn’t until two months later that they told them this. It’s just been out for about two months, and they are damaging the airline’s reputation.
“This test was completed in less than a month. And my system contained nothing. In the event that the NSIB launches a defamatory campaign against the airline, innocent individuals ought to be shielded from it. Had it not been for my chairman’s composure, I would have been fired and placed on a blacklist. After that, no airline in the world would choose me since they have now portrayed me as someone who does drugs. This is horrible, truly awful,” she continued.
If the agency did not remove the report, she vowed to sue it.
“This is very, really awful. This is outright character assassination. Since the public needs to see this and the NSIB needs to come and truly resolve this issue, I’m not sure if our report and test should be displayed. All of this info is circulating as of this morning, when we just got up. I wish we would just go ahead and show the world that this is the outcome of our test and that our system is error-free. All of these are falsehoods.
NSIB Director-General Captain Alex Badeh, however, denied the accusations.
While expressing sympathy for the workers, Badeh warned that people in the storm’s path were likely to respond in this way.
“They claim it is a smear campaign against the airline,” he said. However, it is important to note that this is not the first preliminary report we have released. Numerous publications have been released by us. It is somewhat unexpected to learn that Air Peace is the target of a smear campaign. Tests are not conducted by NSIB. Although it is an official test, this was completed by the management of River State Hospital. They underwent blood and urine testing, and the report was released the next day, on the 14th. The crash occurred on the 13th. We had the report, but we still needed to look into other matters.
Air Peace indicts NCAA
In its reaction to the pushback, Air Peace also mentioned that the assistant pilot had been flying ever since the event.
The airline reported that the co-pilot was back on active duty after receiving clearance from the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority.
The airlines stated that the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority would not have permitted him to return to flight operations if he had engaged in drug or alcohol use.
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, however, attempts to resolve the conflicting grounds between the NSIB’s position and the purported NCAA clearance had not yet been successful. Michael Achimugu, the NCAA’s Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection, stated he would confirm and get back to our correspondent, but he had not done so as of press time.
Attempts to contact the NSIB spokesperson also failed because she did not answer repeated calls to her phone or reply to a text message of inquiry on the subject. Regardless, observers have questioned whether the aviation authorities have been operating in silos or in concert.
Additionally, Air Peace stated that it had not formally communicated its conclusions on crew toxicological results to the airline until the NSIB made the report public.
The airline stated that if it hadn’t been informed of the report, it couldn’t have taken any action.
“The crew was tested for alcohol less than an hour after the event, and we have yet to hear any official messages from the NSIB regarding these findings more than a month later! Setting the record straight is crucial because, as a responsible airline, we place the highest importance on safety, transparency, and compliance.
“Air Peace regularly checks our crew for drugs and alcohol. In addition to the eight hours before to the flight as stipulated by the regulations, we have an extremely stringent alcohol consumption policy. Drug use is strictly prohibited!
After the incident, Air Peace said, “We took swift and decisive action: The captain of the affected flight was grounded and relieved from further flight duty to date for not adhering to Crew Resource Management principles and for not following standard go-around procedures as advised by his co-pilot, but not for testing positive for a breathalyser test as the NSIB has not yet informed us of the result.”
In the meantime, the International Civil Aviation Organisation mandates that the state (investigators, in this case the NSIB) conducting an accident investigation submit a preliminary report to ICAO in accordance with Annexe 13 of the Chicago Convention. However, the investigators retain the discretion to decide whether or not to make the report public.
Passengers, experts express fear
Nigerians have voiced concerns about the safety of the flying public ever since the event was revealed, citing alleged laxity in the regulations controlling the country’s aviation sector.
both within the aviation sector as a whole and at the airline level.
Aderoju Aina, a frequent traveler, stated that the authorities need to treat the issue seriously.
Although such problems were not exclusive to Nigeria, he continued, uncultured pilots were constantly being apprehended in wealthy countries.
“I recently saw a video of a pilot who was found to be intoxicated and taken away by the FBI,” Aina remarked. Although our fields differ, we are the same everywhere in the world. I am currently terrified for my life because my biggest concern is that things would go wrong in Nigeria.
“I don’t mind talking to pilots to make sure they’re mentally stable right now, or even just smelling their mouths before a trip in the future, please.”
Another traveler, who only wanted to be known as Maria, urged the authorities to investigate the issue in order to restore confidence in the nation’s aviation industry.
Tomorrow, my companion and I are scheduled to take a plane to Abuja. Since everyone is in a frenzy over the news of the “drinking or drunk pilot,” she has suggested that we would prefer to depart today and travel by road.
“However, I just ask that the Nigerian government, or whoever is in charge of matters like this, follow through on this and not simply put it in the past. The other nations are ahead of us because they exercise due diligence, which is what I am also requesting; it is not magic.
According to industry analyst Group Captain John Ojikutu (Rtd), the NCAA should be held accountable for any failures in aviation standards since it is in charge of enforcing them in Nigeria.
He commended Dr. Harold Demuren’s proactive attitude to industry communication, citing their previous interactions.
The source did, however, voice concerns about the NCAA’s lack of institutional knowledge and continuity.
They are no longer willing to train replacements for the experienced personnel they are losing. That’s risky,” he continued.
The stakeholder disclosed that they found more than 150 unresolved safety recommendations at an earlier intervention.
When we were called in to assist, we discovered that these problems had just gone unnoticed. The NCAA has no choice but to sit up.
He also brought up a number of alarming events, such as a disaster in which a pilot was supposedly in a hurry to board an international aircraft.
Critical challenges cannot be ignored in Demuren’s day, according to Ojikutu. A pilot was in a hurry to board another flight to leave the country when he crashed a while back. We know a lot of these things, but what are we doing to them? If the pilot was intoxicated, why didn’t anyone notice?
“Like Dana Air, which went down in Lagos a while ago. According to what I’ve been told, the situation began seventeen minutes after the plane took off from Abuja. The pilot was either meant to turn around or land at the closest airport, whichever was closer, but he carried on and crashed in Iju. Aerocontractors experienced a similar incident a few weeks later.
