Report: Air Peace pilot, co-pilot tested positive for drugs, alcohol after Port Harcourt runway incident
The Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB) has released a preliminary report indicting an Air Peace pilot and co-pilot for taking hard drugs and alcohol.
According to the bureau, both crew members tested positive after their aircraft was involved in a runway incursion at the Port Harcourt International Airport on July 13, 2025.
The findings were contained in a report signed by Bimbo Olawumi Oladeji, NSIB’s director of public affairs and family assistance, and released on Friday.
The report said the aircraft, operating as a scheduled domestic flight from Lagos to Port Harcourt with 103 passengers 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,” the report reads.
“All passengers and crew disembarked safely, and no injuries were reported.”
The NSIB said the aircraft touched down 2,264 metres from the runway threshold, well beyond the recommended touchdown zone, and eventually came to a stop 209 metres into the clearway.
It explained that although all on board disembarked safely, the incident raised immediate safety concerns.
The bureau added that the toxicological test results conducted on the flight crew turned out positive.
The agency said the tests indicated the presence of alcohol in the system of the crew members, while another also tested positive for tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the active compound found in cannabis, colloquially referred to as “Indian hemp”.
The NSIB noted that these toxicology results were being assessed within the scope of human performance and safety management, both critical factors in aviation incident investigations.
An aircraft incursion is the wrongful or unauthorised positioning of an aeroplane at the runway.
