PORT HARCOURT — Fresh details have emerged over the recent Air Peace incident at the Port Harcourt International Airport, as the airline’s co-pilot, David Bernard, has publicly shared his account of what transpired in the cockpit.
Speaking in an interview with Arise Television on Friday, Bernard revealed that he was forced to step in after the captain allegedly ignored his warnings during what he described as an “unstable approach.”
“The incident happened on July 13, 2025. I was the pilot monitoring officer that day. The weather was good, visibility was clear, and everything was going smoothly until 500 feet,” Bernard explained.
According to him, trouble began when the captain disengaged the autopilot system to land manually. “As soon as he disconnected the autopilot, the approach became unstable. I cautioned him, saying, ‘Commander, you are high for this approach, we should initiate a go-around.’ But he didn’t listen to me,” Bernard said.
He added that the aircraft overshot its safe landing zone, descending across the runway at about 200 feet before touching down beyond the midpoint.
“The captain was also reluctant to use the reverse thrust after landing. I had to manually deploy it myself to bring the plane to a safe stop,” Bernard revealed.
His testimony is expected to spark further scrutiny into cockpit decision-making and safety protocols at Nigeria’s largest carrier.
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