A Bombardier Challenger 600 series aircraft operated by Triton Aviation declared a mid-air emergency on Thursday, October 15, after losing a door shortly after departing from Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja. The crew transmitted a Mayday distress call about three nautical miles from the airport, and air traffic control directed the jet back to Abuja, where it landed safely approximately 14 minutes after the initial alert.
Incident Details: Door Lost Minutes After Takeoff
The aircraft, registered as T7-SEI with flight identification DWC052, took off from Abuja at 4:17 pm UTC on Runway 22, bound for Murtala Muhammed Airport in Lagos. At about 4:20 pm, while climbing through 3,000 feet and roughly three nautical miles from the airport, the crew radioed a distress call: "Mayday, Mayday, Mayday." The crew notified the air traffic control tower that a door had come open in flight.
The approach radar controller immediately directed the aircraft to return to Abuja. Fire and emergency personnel, along with medical teams, were placed on standby and moved to designated positions on the ground. At about 4:29 pm UTC, while in communication with the Abuja control tower, the crew asked whether ground controllers could confirm if the door was still open.
Safe Landing and Ground Response
The aircraft landed safely on Runway 22 at approximately 4:34 pm UTC, around 14 minutes after the Mayday call was first transmitted. On the ground, the duty controller observed that the door was no longer attached to the fuselage, confirming the full extent of the incident. The jet was subsequently taxied to the international apron extension and parked with the help of a marshaller.
An incident report obtained by a correspondent detailed the sequence of events. The number of passengers on board could not be confirmed at the time of the report.
Door Recovered on Farmland
A video obtained by The PUNCH showed the door had been recovered by farmers who came across it on farmland in the Abuja area. A man in the video, whose identity could not be confirmed, said the farmers found it while returning from their fields.
Regulatory Response and Investigation
The Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection at the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Michael Achimugu, confirmed the incident but said the NCAA could not comment further, noting that the matter fell under the jurisdiction of the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB).
The NSIB did not provide an immediate official response, though a source within the agency confirmed the gravity of the incident and said the bureau's management had deployed investigators to the scene. An official statement was expected in due course. Triton Aviation could not be reached for comment before this report was filed.
