Aviation Safety: Senate absolves indigenous airline

By Haruna Salami

The Senate has exonerated Nigeria’s largest carrier, Air Peace, from allegations of negligence and drug use by its pilots in the July 13, 2024 runway overrun incident at the Port Harcourt International Airport, following an investigative hearing by the upper chamber’s Committee on Aviation.
Speaking after a one-day investigative hearing on the “Need to Strengthen Aviation Safety Following the NSIB Report on the Airpeace Runway Overrun Incident at Port-Harcourt International Airport”, Chairman, Senate Committee on Aviation, Abdulfatai Buhari (Oyo North) said 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.
The investigative session, attended by key stakeholders including Air Peace Chairman and CEO, Mr. Allen Onyema, and representatives of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), focused on strengthening aviation safety and public confidence in domestic air travel following the incident.
Senator Buhari expressed concern that the NSIB’s preliminary findings had been “riddled with contradictions” — initially alleging drug use among several members of the Air Peace crew before later revising the claim to only two individuals.
“You can see that, unfortunately, most of those allegations are not true,” the lawmaker 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.”
He commended Air Peace and other indigenous airlines for maintaining internal safety checks and conducting random testing of their pilots and staff, insisting that Nigeria should “encourage rather than destroy” its local carriers.
“Air Peace and United Nigeria Airlines are our own. We need to support them, not damage their reputation with unverified claims,” Buhari said. “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.”
He noted that a forthcoming 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.