A dispute has erupted between Air Peace crew members and the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB) over test results alleging drug and alcohol use following the airline’s runway incident in Port Harcourt.
Cabin crew member, Victory Maduneme, strongly denied testing positive for alcohol and cannabis, describing the NSIB’s preliminary report as a smear campaign against the airline.
Speaking on Arise TV, Maduneme recounted how blood and urine samples were taken hours after the July 13 incident but claimed the results, released 10 days later, were inaccurate. She said a subsequent confirmatory test conducted at a licensed clinic returned negative.
“If marijuana was truly found in my system, NSIB should have informed my airline immediately and suspended my licence,” Maduneme argued. “Two months later, they are now releasing this. This is pure defamation of character.”
Air Peace co-pilot, David Bernard, also challenged the credibility of the test, noting that modern aviation practice relies on breathalysers for instant results, not delayed blood tests.
The Director-General of NSIB, Captain Alex Badeh Jr., however, defended the bureau’s action, insisting that preliminary reports are standard practice and that the test was officially conducted by the Rivers State Hospital Management Board.
“This is not the first preliminary report we have published,” Badeh said. “NSIB does not conduct tests ourselves. The results were available the next day, but we had to complete our investigation before making findings public.”
The July 13 incident involved an Air Peace Boeing 737 which veered off the runway at Port Harcourt International Airport. According to NSIB’s preliminary findings, the aircraft landed 2,264 metres beyond the runway threshold—outside the recommended touchdown zone—and stopped 209 metres into the clearway.
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