Mayday Call After Private Jet Loses Door Shortly After Take-Off in Abuja

A private business jet operated by Triton Aviation made an emergency landing in Abuja after its door separated from the aircraft shortly after take-off for Lagos, prompting the crew to issue a Mayday distress call and triggering an investigation by Nigeria’s aviation safety authorities. The Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB) said nine people, three crew members and six passengers, were on board, and all were accounted for in the report of the safe landing.

The incident occurred on Thursday, October 15, 2026, shortly after the aircraft, registered as T7-SEI, departed Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, for Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos. The aircraft was identified in reports as a Challenger 604, also referred to by its CL60 designation, and was operating under flight identification DWC052.

According to an air traffic control incident report cited by Nigerian media, the aircraft took off from Runway 22 at about 4:17 p.m. Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). Around three nautical miles from the airport, while climbing, the crew reported that a door had opened in flight and issued a Mayday call at approximately 4:20 p.m. UTC. The NSIB’s account placed the aircraft at about 3,500 feet when the distress call was made.

Air traffic controllers directed the aircraft back to Abuja and alerted airport fire and rescue personnel and medical teams to stand by. As the jet approached the airport, the crew asked the control tower whether the door could be seen from the ground. The duty controller attempted to inspect the aircraft with binoculars but could not confirm its condition because of the aircraft’s position.

The aircraft landed safely on Runway 22 at about 4:34 p.m. UTC, roughly 14 minutes after the Mayday call. Following the landing, the controller observed that the door was missing from the fuselage. The jet was then moved to the international apron extension and parked with assistance from a marshaller.

In a statement reported on Friday, NSIB Director-General and Chief Executive Officer Alex Badeh Jr said the bureau had begun investigating the door separation to establish the circumstances surrounding the incident. The bureau also confirmed that the missing door had been recovered and secured at its wreckage hangar. It said further updates would be provided as the investigation progressed.

The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority’s Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection, Michael Achimugu, had also confirmed the occurrence to news organizations, explaining that the investigation fell under the NSIB’s remit. Triton Aviation could not immediately be reached for comment, according to reports published after the incident.

Videos circulating online reportedly showed the aircraft door after it was found by farmers on farmland in the Abuja area. However, the circumstances of its discovery were described by witnesses in the footage and were not independently established in the initial reports. Investigators will need to determine why the door separated from the aircraft; no cause has yet been established publicly.

The incident places the focus on the importance of establishing the cause of an unusual in-flight structural failure, even when an aircraft returns safely and no casualties are reported. The NSIB’s investigation is expected to clarify the sequence of events and identify any safety lessons arising from the occurrence, while its findings may help determine whether further action or recommendations are warranted.