The Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB) has called on aviation stakeholders to uphold stricter standards around the preservation of accident investigation evidence, after its Director-General, Captain Alex Badeh Jr., raised concerns that some evidence has been tampered with. Badeh made the remarks at an Aviation Stakeholder Engagement Workshop held in Lagos, themed around evidence preservation and substance use among aviation personnel.
The one-day workshop brought together the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency, the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, former agency directors-general, airline operators and other industry stakeholders. Badeh told attendees that safe and reliable air travel depends on strict adherence to two pillars: protecting the integrity of accident evidence and managing substance use among flight personnel.
Pilot-in-Command Accountability Highlighted
Badeh said that while evidence integrity and crew fitness are shared responsibilities across the industry, the pilot-in-command carries particular accountability for ensuring no crew member is impaired by alcohol, drugs, fatigue or other causes before a flight. He linked the NSIB's expectations to International Civil Aviation Organization guidance, including its manual on preventing problematic substance use in aviation workplaces, which the Bureau says sets clear abstinence standards for flight crew.
Regulator Response
The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority used the same forum to say it would not hesitate to sanction crew members found to have violated rules on substance abuse or other conduct-related misdemeanours. The workshop is one of several the NSIB has convened as it pushes to strengthen evidence-handling protocols, including cockpit voice and flight data recorder preservation, following concerns raised during past accident investigations.