Air Peace Crew Fights Back! Rejects NSIB Report Alleging Alcohol & Drug Tests

Two Air Peace crew members — Co-pilot David Bernard and flight attendant Maduneme Victory — have strongly refuted a report by the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB) alleging they tested positive for alcohol and cannabis following a runway incursion in Port Harcourt.

The NSIB, in a preliminary report released Friday, claimed toxicology tests detected alcohol and tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) in their systems after the July 13, 2025, incident in which an Air Peace jet veered off the runway during landing at the Port Harcourt International Airport.

Investigators said the aircraft touched down far beyond the recommended zone, halting only after overshooting into the clearway. While all passengers and crew escaped unharmed, the report raised safety concerns over the flight team’s performance.

However, Bernard and Victory dismissed the NSIB’s findings as false, defamatory, and damaging to their careers, vowing to challenge the report.

Speaking on Arise Television, Bernard insisted he does not consume alcohol or drugs, accusing investigators of using an unregistered medical centre and delaying results for over 10 days. He argued that standard aviation practice requires instant breathalyser checks, not off-site blood and urine tests.

Victory, equally outraged, described the report as an attempt to “smear the airline’s image.” She revealed that a confirmatory test at an accredited Aerospace Clinic returned negative, questioning why the NSIB delayed notifying the airline for nearly two months if the initial results were genuine.

“This is defamation of character,” she said, warning of legal action if the report is not withdrawn.

But NSIB Director-General, Captain Alex Badeh, dismissed their claims, stressing that the toxicology was officially conducted by the Rivers State Hospital Management. He added that the bureau merely incorporated the findings into its preliminary report.