The Senate has absolved the nation’s largest carrier, Air Peace, of allegations of negligence and pilot drug use in connection with the July 13, 2024 runway overrun incident at the Port Harcourt International Airport, Port Harcourt.

The decision followed a one-day investigative hearing conducted by the Senate Committee on Aviation on Thursday.

Speaking after the session, the Chairman of the Committee, Abdulfatai Buhari, said the upper chamber’s review of the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB) report was riddled with contradictions.

Buhari noted that it initially alleged drug use among several members of the Air Peace crew before revising the claim to only two individuals.

He warned that such discrepancies could damage Nigeria’s aviation reputation before international regulators if left uncorrected.

“You can see that, unfortunately, most of those allegations are not true. The report was disjointed and not coordinated,” the committee chair told the gathering.

“You don’t accuse people wrongly, especially in aviation, where ICAO and other international laboratories are monitoring us closely”.

The hearing, attended by top industry stakeholders including Air Peace Chairman and CEO, Allen Onyema and officials of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), focused on strengthening aviation safety oversight and restoring public confidence in the sector.

He lauded Air Peace and other domestic carriers for maintaining robust safety protocols, including internal checks and random drug testing of pilots and crew.

“Air Peace and United Nigeria Airlines are our own,” Senator Buhari said. “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”.

The lawmaker also disclosed that the Senate would soon issue a formal report recommending measures to improve the accuracy and coordination of aviation investigations in Nigeria. He umderscored that the probe was not meant to witch-hunt any operator but to ensure safety improvements across the industry.

The lawmakers also hinted at a forthcoming bill that would require federal agencies and officials to patronize Nigerian airlines for official travel as part of efforts to strengthen the domestic aviation sector.

Earlier, Onyema, who appeared before the committee to defend Air Peace’s safety record, described the NSIB’s handling of the incident as unfair and damaging to a proudly Nigerian airline that adheres to international safety standards.

“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,” the Air Peace chief said.

“I must however correct certain impressions created by the NSIB’s handling of this matter”.

Onyema clarified that the aircraft involved suffered no mechanical fault or damage, and the runway excursion was purely the result of human error.

“The aircraft in question had no single damage. It flew back to Lagos the same day. The pilot has 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”.

He said that Air Peace maintains some of the strictest internal safety measures in the industry, explaining that he once grounded eight aircraft in a single day after discovering that a maintenance planner made a mistake on one of the ERJ planes.

“We could have hidden it, but we reported it ourselves to the NCAA. That is how seriously we take safety,” Onyema said.

The airline chief cautioned against the spread of misleading reports that could harm Nigeria’s aviation image abroad.

He 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. Air Peace is one of the safest airlines in the world, not just in Nigeria”.

The session, which occasionally turned emotive, later moved into a closed-door meeting to review confidential safety data and reports. (Channels TV)