Senate exonerates Air Peace of negligence, drug use by pilots

•Faults NSIB’s preliminary findings which are “riddled with contradictions”

By Henry Umoru

ABUJA- THE Senate has exonerated Airpeace, Nigeria’s largest carrier of allegations of negligence and drug use by its pilots in the July 13, 2024 runway overrun incident at the Port Harcourt International Airport. It also faulted the preliminary findings of the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB) after an investigative hearing by the upper chamber’s Committee on Aviation.

Addressing Journalists yesterday after a closed door session with Aviation Permanent Secretary, heads of Agencies, Airline Operators, Chairman, Senate Committee on Aviation Senator Abdulfatai Buhari, APC, Oyo North disclosed that the Senate’s review of the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB) report revealed “serious inconsistencies and uncoordinated findings,” which he warned could damage Nigeria’s aviation reputation before international regulators if left uncorrected.

Buhari noted that the hearing was designed to strengthen aviation safety and public confidence in domestic air travel following the incident. He said that the NSIB’s preliminary findings were “riddled with contradictions” after the report initially alleged drug use among several members of the Air Peace crew but later revised the claim to only two individuals.

Buhari said, “unfortunately, most of those allegations are not true. 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.”

The Senator who hailed Air Peace and other indigenous airlines for maintaining internal safety checks and conducting random testing of their pilots and staff, stressed that Nigeria should “encourage rather than destroy” its local carriers.

He said, “Air Peace and United Nigeria Airlines are our own. We need to support them, not damage their reputation with unverified claims. The most important thing is that no lives were lost, and the aircraft was not damaged. It was towed and later flown back safely to Lagos.”

According to him, the next Senate report would recommend measures to improve the quality and coordination of aviation investigations in Nigeria, stressing that the aim of the inquiry was not to witch-hunt any operator but to ensure industry-wide safety improvements. He added that the Senate may soon consider a bill mandating all federal agencies and government officials to patronize Nigerian airlines for official travel as part of broader efforts to support the local aviation sector.

Earlier, the Chief Executive Officer, CEO of Airpeace, Allen Onyema and the Senate clashed during an investigative hearing into the 13th July runway incident involving one of the airline’s aircraft at the Port Harcourt International Airport.

Trouble started yesterday when it was the turn of Onyema to address the Senate Committee on Aviation as he said that he honoured the invitation because the Senators were his customers. He said, “I initially did not want to honour this invitation. 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. The aircraft in question had no single damage. It flew back to Lagos the same day. The pilot had flown for nearly 40 years — one of the most experienced in our fleet. He simply had a bad day.

Unfortunately, the early report created confusion that made it appear as if the aircraft was faulty or the pilots were intoxicated.”

Onyema told the Senators that Air Peace maintains a self-regulating culture stricter than many foreign airlines, often grounding entire fleets for review when an anomaly is detected. He said, “I once grounded eight aircraft in a single day after discovering that a maintenance planner made a mistake on one of our ERJ planes. We could have hidden it, but we reported it ourselves to the NCAA. That is how seriously we take safety.”

Onyema who cautioned that misleading narratives and sensational reports could harm Nigeria’s international aviation reputation and make local operators targets of undue scrutiny abroad, said, “What we say here is being monitored globally. We must be careful not to impugn the integrity of the NSIB or destroy public trust in Nigerian airlines,” he said. “Air Peace is one of the safest airlines in the world, not just in Nigeria. Perhaps this hearing could have been framed differently — as an investigation into runway excursions in Nigeria, rather than appearing to single out one airline.”

The heated session, which occasionally turned emotional, was later moved into an executive session to allow for a closed-door review of confidential reports and safety data. Before adjourning, Senator Buhari assured Onyema that the Senate’s goal was not to indict any operator but to strengthen confidence in Nigeria’s airspace.

The post Senate exonerates Air Peace of negligence, drug use by pilots appeared first on Vanguard News.