Tragedy averted as private jet loses door Mid-Air
An air crash was averted on Thursday after a CL60 aircraft operated by Triton Aviation lost a door shortly after take-off from the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport (NAIA), Abuja, forcing the crew to declare a “Mayday” emergency. The aircraft, with registration number T7-SEI and flight identification DWC052, was scheduled to fly from Abuja to the […]
On Thursday, a potential disaster was averted when a private jet operated by Triton Aviation lost a door mid-flight, forcing the crew to declare an emergency. The aircraft, registered as T7-SEI and identified by the flight DWC052, was en route from Abuja to Lagos when the incident occurred at around 4:20 p.m. UTC. The plane had taken off from Runway 22 at 4:17 p.m. UTC, reaching an altitude of 3,000 feet just three nautical miles from the airport when the crew announced the emergency.
According to an incident report obtained by the reporter, the crew notified air traffic controllers about the open door, leading the approach radar controller to instruct the aircraft to return to Abuja for an emergency landing. The airport's fire watch room and medical team were notified, and emergency personnel were prepared to receive the aircraft upon its return.
At approximately 4:29 p.m. UTC, the crew inquired with Abuja air traffic controllers about the condition of the open door, but the controller could not visually confirm the situation due to the aircraft's position. Despite this, the aircraft managed to land safely on Runway 22 at about 4:34 p.m. UTC, 14 minutes after the Mayday call.
Post-landing, the controller observed that the door was missing from the fuselage, confirming the gravity of the situation. The aircraft was then towed to the international apron extension by a marshaller. Viral footage later emerged showing the missing aircraft door being recovered by farmers in a farmland within Abuja. The farmers, while returning from their farm, discovered the door while it had fallen from the plane.
Once the airport authorities were informed, they confirmed the incident but declined to comment further, stating that it was under the jurisdiction of the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB). The NSIB also acknowledged the serious nature of the incident and reported that investigators had been dispatched to the site to conduct a thorough investigation, with an official statement expected soon.
Written by urgent.news from Daily Trust's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
