Relieve came the way of Nigeria’s airline, Air Peace, on Thursday as the Nigerian Senate cleared the airline of any wrongdoing in the July 13 runway overrun incident at the Port Harcourt International Airport.
Aside this, the upper chamber also cleared allegations of drug and alcohol use by its pilots were based on “inconsistent and uncoordinated” findings by the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau.
It was gathered the latest development arise as result of a high-profile investigative hearing by the Senate Committee on Aviation, amid growing concerns that the NSIB’s preliminary report — which initially alleged that several Air Peace crew members tested positive for alcohol and cannabis, before later narrowing the claim to two personnel — could tarnish Nigeria’s aviation image before global regulators.
The Committee Chairman, Senator Abdulfatai Buhari, speaking after Thursday’s session, warned that the discrepancies in the NSIB report could undermine confidence in Nigeria’s air safety rating if not quickly addressed.
“You can see that, 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,” Buhari said.
According to the lawmaker, the Senate’s review confirmed that the Air Peace aircraft sustained no damage during the runway excursion and returned to Lagos the same day.
He commended Air Peace and other domestic airlines for maintaining internal safety checks and random drug testing, noting that Nigeria should “encourage rather than destroy” indigenous carriers.
“Air Peace and United Nigeria Airlines are our own. We need to support them, not damage their reputation with an unverified claim. The most important thing is that no lives were lost and the aircraft was not damaged,” Buhari, who represents Oyo North Senatorial District, said.
