A co-pilot, David Bernard, and a cabin crew member, Maduneme Victory, have dismissed the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau’s claim that they tested positive for alcohol and drugs.

According to the NSIB, the two crew members were found to have alcohol and marijuana in their system after an Air Peace aircraft they were on was involved in a runway incursion on Sunday, July 13, 2025.

The aircraft had veered off the runway while landing at Port Harcourt International Airport. Investigators noted that it touched down 2,264 metres from the runway threshold—well beyond the designated touchdown zone—before finally stopping 209 metres into the clearway.

A runway incursion occurs when an aircraft is wrongly or unauthorisedly positioned on the runway. Such incidents are often linked to miscommunication, human error, equipment failure, or poor runway conditions.

In its preliminary report, signed by the Director of Public Affairs and Family Assistance, Mrs. Bimbo Oladeji, the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau disclosed that toxicology tests conducted on the flight crew returned positive results.

The tests detected alcohol in the system of one crew member, while another tested positive for tetrahydrocannabinol, the psychoactive compound in cannabis, commonly known as Indian hemp.

The statement further read, “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 compound in cannabis. The findings are now being assessed as part of the investigation’s human performance and safety management review.

“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.”

The affected airline staff, speaking on Friday in an interview with Arise Television, accused the NSIB of carrying out questionable tests at an unaccredited centre in a bid to tarnish the airline’s image.

Co-pilot Bernard maintained that he neither consumes alcohol nor uses 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.

The co-pilot explained that the airline routinely conducts random tests on its crew, a practice that discourages them from indulging in anything that could jeopardize 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.”

Victory also rejected the test result, describing it as a deliberate attempt to tarnish the airline’s reputation.

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 explained.

She said the notification came to her as 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.