The Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB) has commenced an investigation into an incident involving a foreign-registered Challenger 604 aircraft operated by Triton Aviation, which lost a door mid-flight shortly after departing Abuja for Lagos.
The aircraft, with registration number T7-SEI, took off from the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, at 16:12 UTC on Thursday.
According to the NSIB, the aircraft was about three nautical miles from the airport and climbing through 3,500 feet when the crew declared a “Mayday” distress call following the separation of the door from the aircraft.
The bureau disclosed this in a statement made available to The Telegraph on Friday.
It said the aircraft subsequently returned to Abuja and landed safely on Runway 22 at 16:34 UTC, with nine people on board, comprising three crew members and six passengers.
The Challenger 604 is registered in San Marino, a landlocked microstate in Southern Europe surrounded by Italy.
In the statement signed by its Director-General and Chief Executive Officer, Alex Badeh Jr, the NSIB confirmed that the missing door had been recovered and secured at its wreckage hangar.
“The Bureau has commenced its investigation to establish the circumstances surrounding the occurrence,” the statement said.
The investigation is expected to establish the circumstances surrounding the incident and determine the factors that led to the door separating from the aircraft during flight.
