The Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB) has indicted the pilot and co-pilot of an Air Peace aircraft for testing positive for alcohol and hard drugs after a runway incursion at the Port Harcourt International Airport on July 13, 2025.
This was revealed in a preliminary report signed by the NSIB’s Director of Public Affairs and Family Assistance, Mrs. Bimbo Olawumi Oladeji, and made available to The PUNCH on Friday.
The incident involved an Air Peace Boeing 737 operating a scheduled domestic flight from Lagos to Port Harcourt with 103 passengers on board. According to the report, the aircraft experienced an unstabilised final approach, touched down 2,264 metres beyond the runway threshold on Runway 21, and finally came to a halt 209 metres into the clearway.
All passengers and crew disembarked safely without injuries, but the occurrence raised serious safety concerns.
The NSIB disclosed that toxicological tests conducted on the flight crew at Rivers State Hospital Laboratory in Port Harcourt on the day of the incident returned positive for alcohol consumption. One cabin crew member also tested positive for tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the psychoactive compound found 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 stated.
The bureau further confirmed that both the captain and first officer tested positive for Ethyl Glucuronide, a marker indicating recent alcohol intake.
In response, the NSIB has issued immediate safety recommendations to Air Peace, urging the airline to strengthen crew resource management training—particularly in handling unstabilised approaches and go-around decisions—and to tighten its internal procedures for monitoring crew fitness before flight dispatch.
The report noted that while runway incursions are often caused by miscommunication, equipment failure, or poor runway conditions, intoxication by crew members has now been identified as an additional risk factor.
The investigation is ongoing, with further details expected in the bureau’s final report.