Air Peace crew tests positive for drug
The Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB) has disclosed that the captain and co-pilot of an Air Peace Boeing 737-500, which overshot the runway at Port Harcourt International Airport on July 13, 2025, tested positive for alcohol. A flight attendant on the same flight also tested positive for cannabis.
The aircraft had departed Lagos with 96 passengers and seven crew members on board.
Weather conditions in Port Harcourt were reported to be clear with good visibility, ruling out adverse environmental factors.
According to investigators, the approach was initially stable. At 500 feet, the captain disengaged the autopilot to land manually, but the aircraft drifted above the recommended glide path.
Despite the first officer’s call for a go-around, the 64-year-old captain, with more than 10,000 flying hours, continued the landing attempt.
The jet crossed the runway threshold too high, touching down three-quarters into the 3,000-metre runway. It eventually overran the strip before stopping on the grass. All passengers disembarked safely without injury.
Toxicology tests later confirmed that both pilots had alcohol in their systems, while one crew member tested positive for cannabis. The NSIB described this as a serious breach of discipline and safety culture.
The report further highlighted the authority gap between the senior captain and the younger co-pilot, who had fewer than 900 flight hours, noting that this imbalance prevented effective decision-making in the cockpit.
The bureau recommended that Air Peace strengthen pre-flight fitness checks for crew and reinforce training on go-around procedures, stressing that abandoning an unstable approach is a critical safety requirement.
Regulators concluded that the incident should serve as a wake-up call for Nigerian aviation, warning that alcohol or drug use in the cockpit poses unacceptable risks, even when no lives are lost.
