Air Peace Airline, on Friday, said the Captain of its Boeing 737-500, which overshot the runway at Port Harcourt International Airport on July 13, 2025, has been grounded and relieved from further flight duty to date.
Recall that the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB) has said that Air Peace pilots tested positive for alcohol while one of the cabin crew tested positive for cannabis following the incident involving its aircraft on July 13, 2025, where one of its B737 aircraft skidded into the bush at the Obafemi Awolowo International Airport, Port-Harcourt, Rivers State.
However, responding to the NSIB report of the pilot testing positive for alcohol and a crew member testing positive for drugs, the airline, in a statement, on Friday, said that the captain was suspended for disregarding standard go-around procedures as advised by his co-pilot, but not for testing positive on a breathalyser test.
The airline further stated that the test result was, however, not communicated to the airline by the NSIB to date.
It further stated that contrary to reports in the media, the First Officer (Co-pilot), who demonstrated professionalism in calling for a go-around to his captain, has been reinstated into active flying duties, with full approval from the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA).
The airline operator said NCAA cleared him, adding that if he were involved in drug or alcohol use, the aviation regulatory body would not have cleared him to resume flight duties.
“As a responsible airline, we place utmost priority on safety, transparency, and compliance, and it is important to set the record straight.
“Air Peace conducts frequent alcohol and drug tests on our crew. We have a very strict alcohol use policy that is stricter than the 8 hours before the flight as provided in the regulations. Drug use is a NO-NO!
“Following the incident, we took immediate and decisive action. The captain of the affected flight was grounded and relieved from further flight duty to date for failure to adhere to Crew Resource Management (CRM) principles and for disregarding standard go-around procedures as advised by his co-pilot, but not for testing positive on a breathalyser test, as the result was not communicated to us by NSIB to date.
“Contrary to reports in the media, the First Officer (Co-pilot), who demonstrated professionalism in calling for a go-around to his captain, has been reinstated into active flying duties, with full approval from the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA). The NCAA cleared him. If he was involved in drug or alcohol use, the NCAA would not have cleared him to resume flight duties.”
The airline, however, said it will increase the frequency of alcohol and drug tests on crew members.
“However, if the relieved captain tests positive on the breathalyser test, then we must increase the frequency of our alcohol and drug tests on our crew.
“Again, the importance of Enhanced Crew Resource Management Training can not be overemphasised. We will intensify strict Fitness-for-Duty checks and Stronger Internal Monitoring to prevent any breach of our zero-tolerance safety policy,” the airline stated.
