The Senate on Thursday absolved Nigeria’s largest airline, Air Peace, of wrongdoing in the July 13 runway overrun incident at the Port Harcourt International Airport, declaring that allegations of drug and alcohol use by its pilots were based on “inconsistent and uncoordinated” findings by the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB).
The move, which followed a high-profile investigative hearing of the Senate Committee on Aviation, comes amid mounting concerns that the NSIB’s preliminary report — which initially accused several Air Peace crew members of testing positive for alcohol and cannabis before later narrowing the claim to two personnel — could damage Nigeria’s aviation image before global regulators.
Speaking after the Thursday session, Committee Chairman, Senator Abdulfatai Buhari, warned that the discrepancies in the NSIB report risked undermining confidence in Nigeria’s air safety rating if not addressed.
“You can see that, unfortunately, most of those allegations are not true,” Buhari said. “The report was disjointed and not coordinated. You don’t accuse people wrongly, especially in aviation, where ICAO and other international laboratories are monitoring us closely.”
Buhari, who represents Oyo North, said the Senate’s review confirmed that the Air Peace aircraft suffered no damage in the runway excursion and was able to return to Lagos the same day.
He commended Air Peace and other domestic carriers for maintaining random drug testing and internal safety protocols, insisting that Nigeria should “encourage rather than destroy” indigenous airlines.
“Air Peace and United Nigeria Airlines are our own. We need to support them, not damage their reputation with unverified claims,” he said. “The most important thing is that no lives were lost, and the aircraft was not damaged.”
He also disclosed that the Senate may soon introduce legislation mandating federal agencies and government officials to patronize Nigerian airlines as part of efforts to strengthen the local aviation sector.
Air Peace Emphasizes Pilot Experience and Internal Safety Protocols
Earlier, Air Peace Chairman and CEO, Mr. Allen Onyema, who appeared before the committee, described the initial NSIB narrative as misleading and harmful to the airline’s global standing.
“I initially did not want to honour this invitation,” he said. “But on second thought, I came because the Senate members are our customers, and they have every right to be concerned about safety. I must, however, correct certain impressions created by the NSIB’s handling of this matter.”
Onyema emphasised that the incident was due to human error, not mechanical failure. He said, “The aircraft in question had no single damage. It flew back to Lagos the same day. The pilot has flown for nearly 40 years — one of the most experienced in our fleet. He simply had a bad day.”
He also highlighted Air Peace’s strict internal compliance culture, recalling that he once grounded eight aircraft in one day after discovering a maintenance error. “We could have hidden it, but we reported it ourselves to the NCAA. That is how seriously we take safety,” Onyema added.
The closed-door part of the hearing continued late into the evening, with lawmakers expected to present a final report to the full Senate in the coming weeks. The report is anticipated to call for clearer coordination among aviation regulators and more transparent communication following incidents.
The Senate intervention comes two months after widespread public controversy surrounding NSIB’s toxicological test claims that a co-pilot and a cabin crew member involved in the Port Harcourt excursion tested positive for alcohol and THC — claims both individuals have since publicly disputed. …Punchng.com
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