Port Harcourt incident: No evidence against Air Peace co-pilot – NCAA
By Emma Ogbuehi
Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has explained its decision to clear Air Peace co-pilot, David Bernard, in the recent Port Harcourt airport runway excursion incident, saying its internal investigation and the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB), report did not indict him.
On July 13, 2025, an Air Peace aircraft veered off the runway while landing at the Port Harcourt International Airport.
The NSIB, in its preliminary investigation, revealed that the aircraft touched down 2,264 metres from the runway threshold, well beyond the recommended touchdown zone, and eventually came to a stop at 209 metres into the clearway.
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After preliminary investigation by the NSIB, it stated that “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.”
Although the airline staff and crew had denied the test result, the NCAA, during an X space, said it adhered to due process based on the available facts and internal investigations.
Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection at the NCAA, Michael Achimugu, said: “I learnt yesterday that the NCAA was being blamed for giving clearance to the first officer. But based on the NCAA internal findings and the NSIB preliminary report, the co-pilot was not found culpable.
“In fact, he advised the captain to go around, which the captain did not heed. Given that, we believe it is unjust to keep someone grounded for a year while an investigation is ongoing if there is no evidence of wrongdoing.
“I have reached out to the NSIB and spoken to their team, but I’m still waiting for comprehensive feedback.”
Bernard, and a cabin crew member, Maduneme Victory, had earlier rejected the NSIB report which claimed that they tested positive for alcohol and a hard drug. The accident investigators had tested the pilot and the crew member positive for alcohol and marijuana after a plane they flew was involved in a runway incursion.
The indicted airline staff, who spoke on Friday during an interview on Arise Television, accused the NSIB of conducting questionable tests at an unregistered centre to smear the image of the airline.
The co-pilot Bernard insisted that he does not take alcohol and 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?”
Air Peace, has also reacted to the incident, saying that it was yet to be communicated on NSIB finding over its Cabin Crew, Pilots testing positive to drugs, alcohol.
