The Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB) has revealed that two Air Peace pilots tested positive for alcohol and hard drugs after a runway incident at Port Harcourt International Airport on July 13, 2025.
This was contained in a preliminary report signed by Mrs Bimbo Olawumi Oladeji, Director of Public Affairs and Family Assistance at the bureau, and made public on Friday, September 12.
The incident involved an Air Peace Boeing 737 aircraft carrying 103 passengers from Lagos to Port Harcourt.
According to the NSIB, “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.”
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The bureau confirmed that toxicological tests conducted on the pilots at the Rivers State Hospital, Port Harcourt, revealed the presence of alcohol in their systems.
A cabin crew member also tested positive for tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the psychoactive substance in cannabis.
“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,” the statement added.
It further noted that the results are being reviewed under human performance and safety management, two critical aspects of aviation safety investigations.
The bureau stressed that the findings have raised serious concerns over pilot fitness and adherence to professional standards in Nigerian aviation.