Passengers and airport personnel were thrown into a tense situation on Thursday after a CL60 aircraft operated by Triton Aviation lost a door mid-flight shortly after taking off from the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, forcing the crew to declare an emergency.
The aircraft, with registration number T7-SEI and flight identification DWC052, was heading to the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos, when the incident occurred at about 4:20 pm, according to an incident report obtained by our correspondent.
The report indicated that the crew notified air traffic control that a door had opened during the flight, prompting the approach radar controller to instruct the aircraft to return to Abuja for an emergency landing.
The aircraft departed Runway 22 at 4:17 pm UTC and was “about three nautical miles from the airport, climbing through 3,000 feet, when the crew transmitted a distress call: ‘Mayday, Mayday, Mayday.’”
Following the distress call, airport firefighters, emergency response personnel and medical teams were alerted and placed on standby. Fire and rescue crews were also directed to designated positions in preparation for the aircraft’s return.
The report stated that at about 4:29 pm UTC, while communicating with the Abuja control tower, the crew asked whether air traffic controllers could determine if 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 crew was subsequently informed that the controller could not confirm the situation visually,” the report said.
The aircraft eventually touched down safely on Runway 22 at approximately 4:34 pm UTC, about 14 minutes after the Mayday call.
After the landing, the duty controller noticed that the aircraft’s door was missing from the fuselage, confirming the extent of the incident.
The jet was subsequently moved to the international apron extension and parked with the assistance of a marshaller.
Meanwhile, a video obtained by The PUNCH showed the missing door, reportedly recovered by farmers from a farmland in the Abuja area.
In the footage, a man whose identity could not be established said the farmers discovered the door while returning from their farm.
He said, “This is what we found as we were returning from our farm. It fell from a plane, but we don’t know much about its identity. As I am sending it to you, sir, just check it.”
The number of passengers aboard the aircraft was not immediately known as of the time of filing this report.
The Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection at the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority, Michael Achimugu, confirmed the incident but declined to comment, explaining that the matter fell under the jurisdiction of the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau.
Although the NSIB could not immediately provide an official response to our correspondent, a reliable source within the agency confirmed the seriousness of the incident.
The source disclosed that the bureau’s management had deployed investigators and would issue an official statement in due course.
Triton Aviation, the aircraft’s operator, could not be reached for comment as of the time of filing this report.