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Triton Aviation’s Lagos-bound CL60 aircraft lost a door shortly after departing Abuja, triggering a Mayday distress call at about 3,000 feet.
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Air traffic controllers immediately directed the aircraft back to Abuja as airport fire and medical teams were placed on emergency standby.
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The aircraft landed safely on Runway 22 about 17 minutes after take-off, with controllers confirming that the door was missing from the fuselage.
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The Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau has confirmed the serious incident and deployed investigators to determine what caused the door to open and detach in flight.
October 16, (THEWILL) – A Lagos-bound aircraft operated by Triton Aviation lost a door at about 3,000 feet shortly after taking off from the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, forcing the crew to declare a Mayday and make an emergency return to the airport.
The CL60 aircraft, with registration number T7-SEI and flight identification DWC052, departed Abuja for the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos, at about 4:17 p.m. on Thursday when the potentially dangerous incident occurred.
Barely three minutes after take-off, while the aircraft was about three nautical miles outbound and climbing through 3,000 feet, the crew issued a “MAYDAY MAYDAY MAYDAY” distress call after discovering that a door had opened in flight.
The emergency prompted air traffic controllers to immediately vector the aircraft back to Abuja and clear it to land on Runway 22.
According to the serious incident report, the approach radar informed the Abuja control tower of the emergency at about 4:20 p.m.
“At 1620 UTC, APP-RADAR informed Tower DWC052, a CL60 with registration marking T7SEI that departed Abuja at 1617 UTC runway 22 to DNMM at 3 nautical miles outbound, passing 3000ft made a MAYDAY MAYDAY MAYDAY call.
“DWC052 reported an open door in flight. Radar vectored the aircraft back to land using runway 22,” the report stated.
Emergency Teams Put on Standby
As the aircraft headed back towards the airport, emergency procedures were activated on the ground.
At about 4:22 p.m., the airport’s fire watch room and medical team were notified and directed to remain on standby.
Information about the distressed aircraft was passed to emergency personnel, while the fire service was instructed to position its personnel and equipment around designated points A4 and A5 in preparation for a possible emergency on landing.
The report stated: “16:22 UTC, Fire watch room and Medical team informed to be on standby. Information pertaining to the flight passed to the fire watch room. Fire watch asked to position at A4 and A5.”
As the aircraft approached the airport at about 4:29 p.m., the crew contacted Abuja Tower and asked controllers whether they could visually confirm that the door was open.
The Duty Air Traffic Controller attempted to inspect the aircraft with binoculars but was unable to establish the condition of the door because of the aircraft’s position.
“At 16:29 UTC, Abuja Tower was in contact with DWC052, and the crew asked Tower if they could see their door opened.
“The Duty Air Traffic Controller (DATCO) used the binocular to view the aircraft but was unable to view the door because of the position of the aircraft, and the crew was advised,” the report added.
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Five minutes later, at about 4:34 p.m., the aircraft successfully touched down on Runway 22 — approximately 17 minutes after it had departed the same airport.
It was after the aircraft landed and its fuselage became clearly visible that the air traffic controller confirmed the seriousness of the incident: the affected door was no longer attached to the aircraft.
“At 16:34 UTC, DWC052 landed safely on runway 22. On landing, the fuselage of the aircraft was clearly visible to the DATCO and the door was missing from the aircraft,” the report stated.
The aircraft was subsequently directed to the international apron extension.
“At 1640 UTC, DWC052 reported marshaller in sight and was parked by the marshaller,” the report added.
There was no immediate report of fatalities or injuries from the incident.
The number of passengers and crew aboard the aircraft at the time of the emergency was also not immediately available.
NSIB Deploys Investigators
The Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB) has confirmed the incident and said investigators had been deployed.
“Yes, it happened. The investigators are there. We will be releasing an official statement shortly,” the Bureau’s media team said.
The NSIB is statutorily responsible for investigating aircraft accidents and serious incidents in Nigeria, with the objective of determining their causes and making safety recommendations aimed at preventing recurrence.
The investigation is expected to establish why the aircraft’s door opened and became detached shortly after take-off, including whether mechanical failure, maintenance issues, human factors or other circumstances contributed to the occurrence.
As of the time of filing this report, the NSIB had not announced a preliminary cause of the incident.
Felix Ifijeh is a journalist with years of professional reporting experience. Known for his keen news sense, compelling storytelling and commitment to accurate, impactful reporting, he has built a reputation for turning leads into clear, engaging, and well-structured reports that resonate with readers. His work reflects deep newsroom experience and a commitment to accurate, impactful journalism.
