Air Peace’s Indicted Co-Pilot Breaks Silence, Belies NSIB Allegations of Alcohol, Marijuana Use

A co-pilot, David Bernard, and a cabin crew member, Maduneme Victory, have rejected a report by the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau claiming they tested positive for alcohol and a hard drug.

The accident investigators said the pilot and the crew member tested positive for alcohol and marijuana after a plane they flew was involved in a runway incursion on Sunday, July 13, 2025.

The Air Peace aircraft veered off the runway while landing at the Port Harcourt International Airport.

According to NSIB, the plane touched down 2,264 metres from the runway threshold, far beyond the recommended zone, and came to a stop 209 metres into the clearway.

Though all passengers disembarked safely, the incident triggered safety concerns.

A runway incursion refers to the unauthorised or wrong positioning of an aircraft at the runway. Such incursions are often caused by miscommunication, errors, faulty equipment, or runway conditions.

The NSIB’s preliminary report, signed by its Director of Public Affairs and Family Assistance, Mrs Bimbo Oladeji, and released on Friday, said toxicological tests on the flight crew returned positive results.

The tests reportedly revealed alcohol in the system of the crew, while another crew member tested positive for tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the active compound in cannabis.

The statement added, “Initial toxicological tests conducted on the flight crew revealed positive results for certain substances, including indicators of alcohol consumption. A cabin crew member also tested positive for THC, the psychoactive component in cannabis. These results are being reviewed under the human performance and safety management components of the investigation.

“Toxicological test was conducted on the flight crew at Rivers state hospital management, department of medical laboratory, Port Harcourt, on 13th July 2025 and they tested positive for some substances. Toxicological screening conducted post-incident revealed: captain and first officer: tested positive for Ethyl Glucuronide, indicating recent alcohol consumption.”

Co-pilot, crew member react

Speaking on Friday in an Arise Television interview, the indicted staff accused NSIB of using questionable tests from an unregistered centre to tarnish the airline’s reputation.

Bernard insisted he does not consume alcohol or drugs.

“I don’t drink and secondly, we are in 2025, if you are trying to do an alcohol and blood test, we have something called the breathalyser, where you have to do your test right there. You blow in your breathe into the breathalyser. It checks the amount of alcohol in your system.

“But these guys at the Port Harcourt Airport took our blood samples and urine on the 13th and then, they are coming back on the 23rd of July with the result. I mean, how long does it take for a result to be out?

“We are in 2025 and we paid a lot of money for this flying school. You can’t just jeopardise somebody’s image, telling me I take alcohol. I didn’t see it in your presence. You took the test out to a non-aviation recognised hospital. So, it doesn’t make any sense at all. I don’t drink or smoke,” he said.

He stressed that the airline carried out random tests on crew members, which prevented them from indulging in anything that could cost their jobs.

He added, “So, you don’t just take anything because you can randomly be checked when reporting for duty. And you are not supposed to have 0.02 grams of alcohol in your blood and you are not supposed to take alcohol eight hours before reporting on duty or on standby.”

Also disputing the report, Victory called the development an attempt to smear the airline.

She said, “On July 13th, after we landed, we waited for NSIB to come on board. Then they came and started their investigation. And five hours later, they asked us to come into a room to do a test.

“So, we all went into the room and our blood samples were taken and our urine was also taken. Normally, when this kind of test is done, immediately after a drug test and alcohol test, you are supposed to get your results within a few hours. But this was not given to us that day. 10 days later, on the 6th, I was called by the NCAA to come and pick up a letter,” she recounted.

According to her, the letter was a shock.

“I went to the NCAA in Lagos, I opened the letter and I was in utter shock to see what was in my result. So, I went to see the doctor. I told the doctor that I was very shocked to see this in my result and it is not possible for me to have this in my system. And he told me to come back in seven days to reply to their letter, but I didn’t wait until seven days; I had to respond, which was on the 7th.

“They got back to me on the 27th that I should come to the office. I went to the office and I was handed a letter and the letter said I should do a reconfirmatory test, which I accepted to do and they sent to me to go and meet Dr Adetunji of Aero Space Clinic, which is the licensed clinic for this kind of test.

“When I met with the doctor, he said to me that marijuana usually stays in the system for 90 days. That if I have something like this that he is advising me that I should go and come back later when I feel like everything has cleared from my system. I said no, if I go back and come back later, it actually proves that I have this kind of thing in my system. I want to do the test.

“The test was done and everything came out negative. The question I need to ask NSIB is, if marijuana was found in my system, were they not supposed to say this to my airline, and were they not supposed to stop me from flying?

“Why? Because I am a risk to the passengers on board and my license would have been taken away from me. But they didn’t inform them of this till after two months. This is like the second month and it is just coming out and they are spoiling the image of the airline.

“This thing (test) was done within a month. And nothing was found in my system. If NSIB have a smiring campaign against the airline, they should keep the innocent people away from this. If not for the calmness of my chairman, they would have sacked me and blacklisted me. And once that is done, no airline in the world would pick me because now they have painted me as this person who has a drug in her system. This is really very bad,” she added.

She threatened legal action if the agency did not withdraw the report.

“This is really very bad. This is pure defamation of character. I don’t know if our report and test should be shown because the world needs to see this and NSIB needs to come and actually clear this thing. We just woke up this morning and all this news is flying around. I wish we could just pursue this and let the world see that this is our test result and nothing is found in our system. These are all lies.”

NSIB responds

Director-General of NSIB, Captain Alex Badeh, dismissed the allegations.

Badeh said such reactions were expected from those directly involved.

He said, “We have heard them say it is a smear campaign against the airline. But I must point out that this is not our first preliminary report we’ve published. We have published countless. So, it is a little surprising to suddenly hear that it is a smear campaign against Air Peace. NSIB does not conduct test. This was done by the River State Hospital Management but it is an official test. They got tested, urine and blood and the report came out the next day, on the 14th, the crash happened on the 13th. So, the report was with us but we had to investigate other things.”

Air Peace indicts NCAA

In its response, Air Peace stated that the co-pilot had continued to fly since the incident.

The airline explained that the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority cleared the officer to return to duty.

“If he were involved in drug or alcohol use, the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority would not have cleared him to resume flight duties,” the airline said.

Air Peace stressed that if confirmation of a positive alcohol test against the captain emerged, it would intensify crew testing and strengthen internal monitoring.

As of press time, conflicting positions between NSIB and NCAA were unresolved.

NCAA spokesperson, Michael Achimugu, said he would confirm and revert, but had yet to respond.

Similarly, the NSIB spokesperson was unreachable as calls and texts went unanswered.

Industry watchers questioned whether aviation agencies were working in synergy or isolation.

Air Peace added that NSIB had not officially informed it of any toxicology findings.

The airline stated, “We are yet to receive any official communications from the NSIB on such findings over a month after the incident and after the testing of the crew for alcohol which took place in less than an hour of the incident! 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 till date for failure to adhere to Crew Resource Management principles and for disregarding standard go-around procedures as advised by his co-pilot but not for testing positive to breathalyser test as the result was not communicated to us by NSIB to date.”

Under Annexe 13 of the Chicago Convention, ICAO requires investigators to submit preliminary accident reports, but disclosure is left to their discretion.

Passengers, experts voice concern

Since the report surfaced, Nigerians have voiced concerns over passenger safety and regulatory lapses in the aviation sector.

Frequent flyer Aderoju Aina said authorities must act decisively.

He said, “Just recently, I watched a clip of a pilot who was discovered to be drunk and was whisked away by the FBI. Human beings are the same everywhere in the world but our disciplines vary. My greatest fear is that everything goes in Nigeria and that is why I am afraid for my life right now.

“I don’t mind speaking to pilots to confirm their current mental stability or even smelling their mouths before embarking on a trip going forward, please.”

Another passenger, Maria, said she and her friend had cancelled a flight to Abuja, opting for road travel due to panic caused by the incident.

She appealed for thorough investigation to restore passenger confidence.

“I am supposed to fly to Abuja with my friend tomorrow. She has insisted that we would rather leave today to go by road because the news of the ‘drinking or drunk pilot’ has caused panic in everybody.

“But my only appeal to the Nigerian government or whoever is in charge of issues like this is that this should be followed to a logical end and not just be put in the past. That is why the other countries are ahead of us, it is not magic, all they do is due diligence and that is what I am also asking for.”

Industry expert, Group Captain John Ojikutu (Rtd), faulted NCAA for lax regulation enforcement, recalling how former DG Harold Demuren prioritised safety dialogue.

He expressed worry about the loss of experienced hands and the absence of training for replacements.

“They are now losing experienced hands and are not even willing to train replacements. That’s dangerous,” he warned.

He revealed that a past intervention found over 150 unaddressed safety recommendations.

“We were called in to help and we found that these issues had simply been ignored. The NCAA must sit up and they have no option.”

Ojikutu cited troubling past incidents, including a crash involving a pilot allegedly rushing to catch an international flight.

He said, “In the days of Demuren, critical issues can’t be swept under the carpet. There was a pilot who crashed some time ago because he was rushing to catch another flight to travel out of the country. Many of these things are known but what are we doing to them? If truly the pilot was drunk, why was it that nobody detected that?

“Just like Dana Air that crashed in Lagos some time back. I gathered that the incident started 17 minutes after taking off from Abuja and he was either supposed to turn back or land at the nearest airport, whichever is closer but the pilot continued and crashed in Iju. A few weeks later, a similar one happened with Aerocontractors.”