NCAA Confirms Passenger’s Removal After ‘Burn Down’ Threat On Air Peace Flight

Air Peace on Monday removed a passenger from its Abuja-bound flight P47866 after he allegedly threatened that his anger could “burn down” the aircraft, prompting the captain to abort take-off and return the plane to the ramp.

The incident, which occurred on November 9, 2026, followed an altercation between the passenger, identified as Celestine Ezeudu, and cabin crew members after he allegedly refused repeated instructions to stop taking photographs and put away his device as the aircraft prepared for take-off.

The Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection at the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Michael Achimugu, confirmed the incident in a post on X.

According to Achimugu, the situation escalated when a second crew member approached Ezeudu to enforce the instruction, leading to an altercation during which the passenger allegedly made the threatening remark.

He said the crew immediately alerted the captain, who initiated a ramp return at 15:57 hours to facilitate the passenger’s removal from the aircraft.

The passenger reportedly complied with instructions to disembark without further resistance, while his travelling companion also voluntarily left the aircraft in solidarity with him.

Achimugu disclosed that Ezeudu later explained that his anger was triggered by missing an earlier flight, although he apparently did not anticipate that his conduct would result in the aircraft returning to the ramp.

“In the crime room, Ezeudu claimed that his anger stemmed from missing an earlier flight, but he did not know that his behaviour would lead to a ramp return,” Achimugu stated.

LEADERSHIP reports that the ramp return was initiated before the aircraft proceeded with its scheduled journey to Abuja, following the captain’s decision to remove the passenger from the flight.