Interview Preparation Guide

"I'm Mehdi Debbabi — a Captain with over 15 years of multi-crew jet experience across four continents. I hold ATP licences from the FAA and CAAV, CPLs from CASA and the DGCA, and I carry type ratings on the Airbus A320, Embraer ERJ-145, Embraer Legacy 600/650 and the Xian MA60.

I started my airline career as a First Officer at Merpati Nusantara Airlines in Indonesia, flying turboprop operations into demanding terrain. From there I moved into Part 121 scheduled airline service in the US with United Express, progressing from Senior First Officer to Captain. I then spent two years commanding international VIP corporate charters across Asia before joining American Eagle Airlines as a Captain and FAA-approved Line Check Airman — conducting IOE, line checks and pilot evaluations under Part 121.

Alongside flying, I built a comprehensive online LMS for the ERJ-145 that over 350 pilots use for training, and I developed an iOS FMS training application. I recently completed a Bachelor of Aviation Management at Griffith University. I'm now looking to bring that combination of command experience, instructional background and systems depth to Air Peace — an airline with genuine momentum and a growing international footprint."

"Air Peace stands out for a few reasons that go beyond simply having an open position.

First, the scale of what Air Peace has achieved since 2014 is remarkable — growing from a domestic carrier into Nigeria's largest airline and now flying into London Heathrow, Gatwick, the Middle East and the Caribbean in just over a decade. That trajectory tells me this organisation has serious leadership and momentum.

Second, the ERJ-145 is the aircraft I know best. I've flown it under Part 121, I've checked pilots on it as an FAA Line Check Airman, and I've built training platforms around it. I can contribute at a high level from day one.

Third, Air Peace explicitly places safety as its number one core value — not just as a marketing position, but as an operational standard. That matters to me. I've spent my career in environments that take safety seriously at a regulatory level, and I want to bring that standard here.

As for the command role — I've been a Captain since 2018. I know what it means to hold command authority, to set the tone in the cockpit, and to be accountable for the outcome of every flight. That's where I work best."

"Air Peace was founded in 2014 by Allen Onyema with a dual mission: to provide safe, affordable air travel and to create meaningful employment for Nigerians. It's grown into the largest airline in West Africa.

Today Air Peace operates a diverse fleet — Boeing 737s, Boeing 777, Embraer ERJ-145 and E190, with E195-E2 deliveries underway. The airline serves over 20 domestic destinations and connects Nigeria internationally across West Africa, the Middle East, the Caribbean, and now the UK with flights into London Heathrow and Gatwick.

The airline is regulated by the NCAA — Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority — and NAMA manages Nigerian airspace. Air Peace's stated vision is seamless connections across domestic, regional and international markets, and its mission is safe, efficient and affordable short and long-haul services. Safety is positioned as the airline's most important performance metric.

I've followed the fleet modernisation programme and the expansion of the international network closely — it's part of what makes this opportunity genuinely exciting to me."

"In 5 years I see myself as a senior Captain who has earned the trust of this organisation — someone who flies to the highest standard and actively contributes to Air Peace's safety culture.

I'd be interested in contributing to training over time. My background in line checking, IOE and training development isn't something I want to leave idle. If Air Peace has pathways toward check captain roles or involvement in training programme development, that's something I'd welcome as I establish myself here.

Longer term, I'm genuinely excited by Air Peace's growth trajectory — new international routes, fleet modernisation, a growing Captain roster. I want to be part of building that, not just as a line pilot, but as someone who helps raise the overall standard."

"During a departure planning phase at American Eagle, the Captain planned a fuel load I felt was inadequate given forecast convective activity along the route. I stated my concern calmly, referenced the company fuel policy, and suggested we add contingency fuel. The Captain initially resisted, but after we reviewed the forecast data together he agreed.

We departed with the additional fuel and did in fact hold for almost 20 minutes due to traffic backed up by weather. The outcome confirmed the CRM process worked — the best information got into the decision. My job as a CRO or as PF is never to win an argument. It's to make sure the safest outcome is reached.

As Captain, I've been on the other side too — where my First Officer raised a concern I hadn't fully weighted. My experience is that the crews who speak up save flights, and the ones who don't are the ones who fill reports later."

"During a night departure early in my Captain career at United Express, I misread a cleared altitude and set the incorrect value in the FMS. My First Officer caught it during the readback cross-check before we were airborne. I acknowledged the correction, updated the FMS, and after landing I filed a safety report documenting what happened and what caught it.

The lesson was reinforced: always verbally confirm cleared altitude against the MCDU entry before departure, never assume — especially at night when cognitive load is high. More broadly, it reinforced for me why closed-loop communication and the PM role exist. The F/O's callout was the system working exactly as designed.

I've never been uncomfortable filing safety reports. If anything, that event made me more consistent about it. You can't improve what you don't document."

"I apply Aviate, Navigate, Communicate — in that order — and I consciously slow down my verbalisation when workload increases. That's counterintuitive but it works: the moments when you feel most rushed are exactly when shortcuts become dangerous.

I use the SOPs as an anchor. They exist precisely for high-pressure moments — not for normal operations when everything is easy. I also make full use of CRM: clear task sharing with my First Officer, explicit callouts, and I'm not too proud to request vectors or a delay to buy time when I need it.

Flying into Nigerian airspace — Lagos and Abuja TMA can be very dynamic, especially during the rainy season. My experience operating across high-density US airspace and demanding terrain in Indonesia has given me a calm under pressure that I believe is one of my genuine strengths."

"This is something I've dealt with both informally as a Captain and formally as a Line Check Airman.

In a line setting, I address it in the right moment — calm, professional, specific. Not on frequency, not in front of cabin crew. Something like: 'I noticed we skipped the readback on that clearance — let's make sure we cover that each time.' After landing I'd have a proper debrief, explain why the SOP matters, and give the First Officer the opportunity to self-correct.

As a check airman, when I documented a deficiency I was always factual and evidence-based. Never personal. And I always asked myself: did this pilot have a fair opportunity to succeed? If not, the fault may lie in the training programme, not the individual.

If the behaviour persisted after addressing it, I'd escalate through the proper channel — document it, notify the Chief Pilot. A Captain's job is to build good habits, not punish people. But if safety is being compromised repeatedly, that becomes a different conversation."

"CRM is the effective use of all available resources — human, hardware and information — to achieve safe and efficient flight operations. It encompasses communication, situational awareness, decision-making, workload management and leadership.

On the EMB145, good CRM means: clear PF/PM task sharing, closed-loop communication especially below FL100, appropriate use of automation, and an environment where my First Officer feels comfortable speaking up. I take the PM's callouts as seriously as my own decisions.

As a Line Check Airman I saw directly how CRM culture makes or breaks a cockpit. The crews who struggled were almost never the technically weakest — they were the ones where information didn't flow between seats. The ones who excelled were the ones where both pilots felt equally responsible for the outcome.

I've operated with crews from Indonesia, the US, Vietnam and Australia. Multi-cultural CRM awareness — understanding that not every culture speaks up the same way — is something I've developed over 15 years and something I apply every flight."

"I approach currency actively, not reactively.

On the aircraft systems side, I built a comprehensive LMS platform for the ERJ-145 — covering systems, limitations, SOP-aligned procedures and practice examinations. Over 350 pilots across multiple international bases use it for initial training and recurrent study. Building it forced me to understand the aircraft at a level of detail that goes beyond what any sim check requires.

I also developed an iOS FMS training application specifically to build logic-based understanding of the flight management system — not button memorisation. Both tools came from a genuine belief that the standard of simulator prep determines how pilots perform when it matters.

Beyond that: I follow ICAO safety publications, Embraer technical summaries, operator Flight Operations Bulletins and industry safety data. I take simulator sessions seriously as learning events. And I recently completed a Bachelor of Aviation Management at Griffith University, which gave me a structured framework for understanding aviation operations at a system level."

Strengths:
"I'd point to three consistently.
First, systems depth — I understand the aircraft at a level that comes through in abnormal handling, automation management and training others. The LMS and FMS app I built are evidence of that investment.
Second, standardisation discipline — my time as a Line Check Airman made me genuinely committed to SOP compliance. Not as a rule to follow, but because I've seen what consistent adherence does for safety outcomes in real operations.
Third, composure under pressure. Whether it was terrain avoidance decisions in Indonesia, high-density airspace management in the US, or managing international charter logistics in Asia, I've learned to find clarity when conditions are demanding."

Development area:
"I've had a tendency to be very thorough in pre-flight planning — which occasionally means I spend longer at the gate than operationally necessary. Over time I've learned to set time limits for each phase and trust my preparation once I've completed it. The preparation doesn't change — but my efficiency in completing it has."

"Safety culture isn't a policy — it's a behaviour that has to be modelled every day, starting in the cockpit.

Practically: I call out threats before they develop. I follow SOPs even when I could rationalise a shortcut, because I know that habit is what protects me when conditions are not ideal. I submit safety reports without hesitation — even for events that make me look bad — because the system can only learn if people report honestly.

As a Line Check Airman I saw the difference between airlines where safety culture was real and those where it was a laminated poster. The real ones had non-punitive reporting that was genuinely practised. Data from the SMS actually drove change. Crews spoke up without fear.

Air Peace's commitment to safety as its number one core value is part of what attracted me here. I've spent my career under FAA Part 121 oversight — one of the most rigorous regulatory environments in the world — and I intend to bring that same standard to every operation I'm part of here."

"Nigerian airspace — especially Lagos and Abuja TMA — can be very dynamic, particularly during convective weather season. I've operated in high-density controlled airspace throughout my Part 121 career in the US, so managing complex ATC environments is something I'm very comfortable with.

My approach is consistent: full readback of all clearances, strict ICAO phraseology, and if there is any ambiguity I ask for clarification rather than assuming. I hold ICAO Level 6 English — the highest proficiency rating — so communication itself is not a barrier. I'm also aware of NAMA's specific procedures and the VHF congestion that can affect domestic route communications.

The one thing I never do is accept a clearance I didn't fully understand. A moment of hesitation on the radio is always less costly than proceeding on an unclear instruction."

"Fatigue management starts before the flight — proper sleep, nutrition and knowing my regulatory duty limits. I've operated cross-time-zone across Asia and I've done long overnight sequences in Part 121. I understand what chronic fatigue looks like and I don't minimise it.

During flight, I use systematic cross-checking to counteract the cognitive effects of fatigue — it's one of the reasons SOPs and callout structures exist. I also make sure my First Officer knows I expect them to speak up if they're not feeling sharp. Fatigue has no respect for rank.

If I ever assessed that my own performance was genuinely compromised, I would be transparent with operations. The Nigerian CAA regulations and ICAO Annex 6 give me both the authority and the duty to report unfit. I would exercise that right without hesitation — and without concern for commercial pressure. An incident costs infinitely more than a delayed departure."

"My position on this has been consistent throughout my career: safety is not negotiable. Full stop.

As Captain I have command authority — and the responsibility that comes with it. If I have a genuine safety concern — whether it's weather, a technical issue, crew fitness, or something about the operational environment — my obligation is to that concern first.

In practice I communicate clearly and professionally. I don't argue — I explain my assessment, the specific factors I'm concerned about, and what would need to change for me to feel confident proceeding. I document it through the SMS. I stay calm, because emotional arguments don't produce good outcomes.

I've been in situations where commercial pressure was real and present. My answer has always been the same. No schedule, no revenue flight and no roster pressure is worth getting it wrong. In my experience, when you explain your reasoning clearly and professionally, reasonable people — including management — support the right call."

"Yes — a few, if I may.

✅ "What does the training pathway look like for a Captain joining the EMB145 fleet? I'd like to understand the conversion requirements, IOE structure, and line release process."

✅ "I have a background in line checking and training development — how does Air Peace involve experienced Captains in training roles as they establish themselves with the organisation?"

✅ "Air Peace has been growing its international network significantly — new UK routes, Middle East, Caribbean. What does the current Captain roster mix look like for international operations versus domestic?"

✅ "What does success look like in this role at the end of the first twelve months?"