A private jet was forced to make an emergency landing in Abuja on Thursday after losing a door while climbing at about 3,000 feet shortly after take-off.
The aircraft, a CL60 operated by Triton Aviation, was travelling from the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, to the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos, when the incident occurred.
The aircraft, registered as T7-SEI and operating under flight identification DWC052, reportedly took off from Runway 22 at 4:17 pm UTC.
An incident report obtained by our correspondent indicated that the crew raised a Mayday alert after notifying air traffic controllers that a door had opened during the flight.
At the time, the jet was about three nautical miles from the airport and climbing through 3,000 feet.
“Mayday, Mayday, Mayday,” the crew transmitted in the distress call.
Following the alert, the approach radar controller instructed the aircraft to return to Abuja for an emergency landing.
Airport fire and rescue teams, medical personnel and other emergency responders were immediately mobilised and placed on standby as preparations were made for the jet’s return.
At approximately 4:29 pm UTC, the crew contacted the control tower to ask whether the controller could determine if the door was open.
The duty air traffic controller attempted to examine the aircraft with binoculars but was unable to establish the door’s condition because of its position.
The aircraft eventually touched down safely on Runway 22 at about 4:34 pm UTC, approximately 14 minutes after the Mayday call.
After landing, the controller observed that the door was missing from the aircraft’s 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 obtained by our correspondent showed an object believed to be the missing door, reportedly recovered by farmers from a farm in the Abuja area.
In the footage, a man whose identity was not established explained that the farmers discovered the object while returning from their farm.
“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,” he said.
The number of passengers aboard the aircraft was not immediately disclosed.
Confirming the incident, the Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection at the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority, Michael Achimugu, said the matter was within the purview of the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB).
Although the bureau had not issued an official statement as of the time of filing this report, a source within the agency said its management had deployed investigators to examine the incident.
The source added that an official statement would be released.
Efforts to reach Triton Aviation for comments were unsuccessful as of press time.