Onome Amuge
Nigeria’s biggest carrier, Air Peace, is facing the toughest reputational test of its short but meteoric history after investigators alleged that alcohol and cannabis use among crew members contributed to a runway excursion in Port Harcourt in July.
The Nigeria Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB), in a preliminary report published on Thursday, said both pilots of the Boeing 737-500 involved in the incident tested positive for alcohol, while an Air Peace cabin crew member was found to have consumed cannabis. Though none of the 96 passengers and seven crew were injured, the findings have sparked intense scrutiny of the airline’s safety culture and the strength of regulatory oversight in Africa’s largest aviation market.
For Air Peace, founded in 2013 and now operating a fleet of nearly 40 aircraft, the fallout could hardly come at a more delicate time. The privately owned carrier has become Nigeria’s most ambitious airline, linking all major cities, operating regional routes, and recently launching long-haul services to London Gatwick. Its rapid expansion has made it a standard-bearer for indigenous enterprise in a sector long dominated by foreign or state-backed carriers. But it has also raised questions about whether growth has outpaced governance.
In its response, the Air Peace pushed back strongly against the NSIB’s framing. It said it was never notified of any positive toxicology test results for the captain, who it insists was dismissed for disregarding Crew Resource Management (CRM) principles rather than alcohol use. The co-pilot, it added, had been reinstated to duty after clearance from the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA).
“If he were involved in drug or alcohol use, the NCAA would not have cleared him,” Air Peace noted, underscoring what it sees as gaps in the communication chain between investigators and operators.
Investigators said the flight, from Lagos to Port Harcourt on July 13, was routine until final approach, when the captain disconnected autopilot at 500 feet and drifted above the glide path. Despite the co-pilot’s call for a go-around, considered the standard safety procedure, the captain, a 64-year-old with more than 10,000 hours on type, pressed on.
The aircraft touched down nearly three-quarters down the 3,000-metre runway, leaving too little space to decelerate. It rolled another kilometre before coming to rest on grassland. The NSIB noted that while conditions were clear and calm, the crew hierarchy created an authority gap that made it difficult for the younger first officer, with fewer than 900 flight hours, to insist on corrective action.
What transformed an embarrassing operational error into a full-blown crisis, however, were the toxicology results. If confirmed, the positive tests would mark one of the most serious crew discipline breaches in Nigeria’s aviation history.
The timing could hardly be worse for Nigerian aviation regulators, who are seeking to reassure global counterparts of the sector’s stability. The NCAA has been lobbying to preserve Nigeria’s Category 1 safety status with the US Federal Aviation Administration, which is required for direct transatlantic flights. Any perception of weak enforcement risks undermining those efforts.
Air Peace itself has sought to turn the incident into a case for strengthening rather than weakening oversight. In its statement, it pledged more frequent drug and alcohol testing, stricter fitness-for-duty checks and enhanced CRM training. “Safety will never be compromised in Air Peace,” it said.
The airline has historically leaned on its strong safety record as a commercial differentiator, helping it build loyalty among Nigerian passengers wary of ageing fleets and patchy standards. But the NSIB’s claims, whether fully substantiated or not, could dent that confidence at home and abroad.
