Co-Pilot, Cabin Crew Reject NSIB Report on Drug and Alcohol Tests

A co-pilot, David Bernard, and a cabin crew member, Maduneme Victory, have dismissed findings of the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB) which claimed they tested positive for alcohol and cannabis after a runway incident in Port Harcourt.

The Air Peace aircraft they operated veered off the runway while landing at the Port Harcourt International Airport on Sunday, July 13, 2025. According to NSIB’s preliminary report, the aircraft touched down 2,264 metres from the runway threshold—well beyond the recommended zone—and came to a halt 209 metres into the clearway. All passengers disembarked safely.

The bureau stated that toxicology tests conducted on the crew revealed alcohol and tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) in their systems. “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,” the report noted.

But Bernard and Victory strongly refuted the claim, accusing NSIB of relying on questionable procedures. Speaking during an interview on Friday, Bernard said, “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? … I don’t drink or smoke.”

He argued that Air Peace already conducts routine checks on staff, making it impossible for crew members to take such risks. “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,” he explained.

Victory also rejected the report, describing it as an attempt to tarnish the airline’s image. She recalled, “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 said the letter came as a shock: “I opened the letter and I was in utter shock to see what was in my result. … 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?”

Victory alleged that the delayed release of the report was damaging her reputation and warned of legal action: “This is pure defamation of character. … 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.”

Responding, NSIB Director-General, Captain Alex Badeh, dismissed the allegations. “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. … 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,” he said.

Air Peace, in its reaction, stressed that the assistant pilot had continued to fly since the incident, suggesting that nothing in his record prevented him from performing his duties.