Aircraft loses door mid-air, makes emergency landing in Abuja

A private aircraft operated by Triton Aviation made an emergency landing at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, on Thursday after a door reportedly detached from the aircraft while it was airborne shortly after take-off.

The aircraft, a Challenger 604 with registration number T7-SEI and flight identification DWC052, was travelling from Abuja to the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, when the incident occurred.

According to a serious incident report, the aircraft took off from Runway 22 at 4:17 p.m. Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). About three nautical miles from the airport, while climbing at approximately 3,000 feet, the crew issued a distress call at 4:20 p.m., reporting that a door had opened in flight.

The crew’s distress call prompted air traffic controllers to direct the aircraft back to Abuja for an emergency landing. Airport fire and rescue personnel, as well as medical teams, were alerted and placed on standby to respond to any eventuality.

The incident raised concerns about the safety of the aircraft, although the crew successfully returned it to the airport without any reported casualties in the information provided by the authorities.

Door reportedly detached during flight

At about 4:29 p.m. UTC, the crew contacted the Abuja control tower and requested confirmation of whether the door was open. The duty air traffic controller attempted to observe the aircraft using binoculars but could not establish the door’s condition because of the aircraft’s position.

The controller subsequently informed the crew that it was impossible to confirm the situation visually. The aircraft continued its return to the airport, where it landed safely on Runway 22 at approximately 4:34 p.m. UTC, about 14 minutes after the Mayday call.

Following the landing, the air traffic controller observed that the door was missing from the aircraft’s fuselage. The aircraft was then taxied to the international apron extension and parked with the assistance of a marshaller.

The report did not establish the cause of the door’s detachment or explain the circumstances that led to the incident. Investigators are expected to examine the available evidence to determine what happened.

Missing door reportedly found

Meanwhile, a video circulating on social media appeared to show the aircraft’s missing door. In the footage, an unidentified man claimed that some farmers returning from their farms in the Abuja area had found the object.

The man suggested that the door had fallen from an aircraft but provided no further details about where it was discovered or how it was identified. The circumstances surrounding the reported discovery had not been independently verified at the time of filing this report.

The Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau confirmed that the incident occurred and said investigators had been deployed to investigate the circumstances surrounding it.

“Yes, it happened. The investigators are there. We will be releasing an official statement shortly,” the bureau’s media team said.

The Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection at the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority, Michael Achimugu, also confirmed the incident but said the NSIB had jurisdiction over the investigation.

Triton Aviation could not be reached for comment at the time of filing this report. The cause of the incident and the circumstances surrounding the door’s detachment remain unknown pending the outcome of the investigation.