The Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau, NSIB, has described the suggestions that it was attempting to sabotage Air Peace Airlines as extremely insulting.
This follows claims that the bureau’s preliminary report on the Port Harcourt International Airport incident involving an Air Peace aircraft was intended to discredit the airline.
The Director-General of NSIB, Captain Alex Badeh, made this known in an interview with Arise Television on Friday.
“We’re in the eye of the storm. Sometimes people react in different ways. We’ve heard them say it’s a smear campaign against the airline, but I must point out that this is not our first preliminary report we’ve published. At least while at the helm at NSIB for 18 months, we’ve published countless, even on Air Peace.
“It’s a little surprising to suddenly hear that there is a smear campaign against Air Peace. In every other incident, there was no smear campaign until now, but again, we’re not here to litigate these. We’re here for the facts,” he said.
The NSIB boss stressed that the toxicology tests carried out on the crew after the 13 July incident were not conducted by the bureau itself.
He further explained that NSIB could not make premature announcements on the results.
Badeh clarified that the findings did not amount to blame or indictment.
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