A private jet carrying nine people was forced to make an emergency landing in Abuja after losing a door shortly after take-off, prompting a Mayday distress call and the deployment of airport emergency teams.
The incident involved a Bombardier Challenger 604 aircraft operated by Triton Aviation, with registration number T7-SEI and flight identification DWC052, which was travelling from Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, to Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, on Thursday, October 15.
The Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB) confirmed that all nine occupants, comprising three crew members and six passengers, were accounted for after the aircraft landed safely.
According to an air traffic control incident report, the aircraft departed Runway 22 at approximately 4:17 p.m. Coordinated Universal Time (UTC).
About three minutes later, while climbing through approximately 3,000 feet and about three nautical miles from the airport, the crew reported that a door had opened during the flight and issued a distress call.
“Mayday, Mayday, Mayday,” the crew transmitted, prompting air traffic controllers to direct the aircraft back to Abuja.
Airport fire and rescue personnel, alongside medical teams, were immediately alerted and placed on standby in preparation for the aircraft’s return.
At about 4:29 p.m. UTC, the crew contacted the control tower to ask whether air traffic controllers could confirm the door’s condition.
The duty controller attempted to observe the aircraft with binoculars but could not determine whether the door was open because of the aircraft’s position.
The jet eventually landed safely on Runway 22 at approximately 4:34 p.m. UTC, about 14 minutes after the Mayday call.
Following the landing, the controller observed that the aircraft’s door was missing from the fuselage. The jet was subsequently moved to the international apron extension and parked with the assistance of a marshaller.
In a related development, a video circulating online showed what was reportedly the missing door, which farmers allegedly recovered from farmland in the Abuja area.
In the footage, an unidentified man said the farmers discovered the object while returning from their farm and believed it had fallen from an aircraft.
The circumstances surrounding the door’s detachment have not been established.
The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) confirmed the incident but said the investigation fell under the jurisdiction of the NSIB.
The safety investigation bureau has deployed investigators to determine the circumstances surrounding the incident and establish what caused the aircraft to lose the door shortly after take-off.
Triton Aviation had yet to issue a detailed public statement on the incident at the time of reporting.
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