NSIB starts investigation into aircraft door incident

The Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB) has started looking into an incident involving a foreign aircraft operated by Triton Aviation. The airline's crew reported that a door of the aircraft opened mid-air shortly after taking off from Abuja on Thursday.

The Challenger 604 aircraft, with registration number T7-SEI, took off from Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport on Thursday heading to Lagos.

It was about three nautical miles away from the airport, climbing through 3,500 feet, when the crew called a Mayday emergency, as reported by the NSIB.

The aircraft returned to Abuja and landed safely on Runway 22 at 16:34 Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). There were nine people on board, including three crew members and six passengers.

In a statement released on Friday and signed by its director-general and CEO, Alex Badeh Jr., the NSIB said it has recovered the missing door and stored it at its wreckage hangar.

“The bureau has commenced its investigation to establish the circumstances surrounding the occurrence,” the statement said.

PREMIUM TIMES earlier reported that the crew declared a Mayday emergency after saying that a door had opened during flight shortly after take-off.

Airport fire and rescue teams, along with medical personnel, were on standby while air traffic controllers directed the aircraft back to Abuja.

The aircraft landed safely, and the air traffic controller later noticed that the door was missing from the fuselage.

A video making the rounds on social media seems to show the missing door. In the footage, an unidentified man mentioned that farmers found the object while coming back from their farm in the Abuja area.

The NSIB stated that its investigation will find out what led to the door detaching and what happened during the flight.

The aircraft is registered in San Marino, a small European country surrounded by Italy, according to the NSIB statement.

The bureau said it will give more updates as the investigation moves forward.