NSIB Investigates After Aircraft Door Falls Mid-Flight

A Triton Aviation jet lost a door minutes after leaving Abuja on Thursday, forcing its crew to broadcast a triple Mayday before landing at Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport with part of its fuselage open to the sky. Nobody has yet said how many passengers were aboard.

The Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB) deployed investigators to the scene. Its media team said bureau management would issue an official statement. The Guardian reported the incident on 17 October 2026.

What Happened in the Air

The CL60 aircraft, registration T7-SEI, flight DWC052, was bound from Abuja to Murtala Muhammed Airport in Lagos. An incident report says it took off from Runway 22 at 4:17 p.m. UTC. About three nautical miles from the airport, climbing through 3,000 feet, the crew transmitted, "Mayday, Mayday, Mayday."

The crew told air traffic control a door had opened in flight. An approach radar controller directed the aircraft back to Abuja. Airport fire-watch and medical teams received alerts and stood by, while fire and emergency personnel took positions A4 and A5.

At about 4:29 p.m. UTC, the crew asked the control tower whether controllers could confirm the door was open. A duty controller tried to view the aircraft through binoculars. The aircraft's position stopped the controller from determining the door's condition, and the crew received that answer. The pilots therefore headed for landing without outside confirmation of what had gone wrong.

The aircraft touched down safely on Runway 22 at approximately 4:34 p.m. UTC, about 14 minutes after the Mayday call. Only then did the controller spot the missing door in the fuselage. The aircraft taxied to the international apron extension, where a marshaller helped park it.

A Door on Farmland

The missing part didn't vanish. A video showed farmers displaying what they said was the door, reportedly found on their farmland in Abuja. "This is what we found as we were returning from our farm," said a man whose identity couldn't be independently established. "It fell from a plane, but we don't know much about its identity. As I am sending it to you, sir, just check it."

The account raises a basic question about the danger to people on the ground. A door detaching at 3,000 feet has to come down somewhere. This one landed on farmland where people work.

Official Response

Triton Aviation couldn't be reached for comment, and no one could establish the number of people on board by the time the report was filed. Michael Achimugu, the Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection at the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), confirmed the incident but said the agency couldn't comment because it fell under the NSIB's purview. The NSIB confirmed it as well.

So far, the public has a timeline from an incident report and silence from the operator.

Airline Finances in the Same Report

The Guardian report also covered United Nigeria Airlines (UNA), which is seeking to raise N20 billion through commercial paper. That’s the first tranche of a N100 billion programme intended to strengthen its finances and expand domestic, regional and international operations. UNA's revenue rose from N10.3 billion in 2021 to N90.8 billion in 2025, while profit after tax climbed from N1.3 billion to N23.8 billion. Agusto & Co. assigned the airline a long-term rating of BBB-, and DataPro assigned BBB. UNA operates 10 aircraft and plans to take delivery of six more before the end of the year.

Why This Matters:

The Abuja incident ended without a reported injury, but the facts show how thin the margin was. Controllers couldn't see the open door, the crew flew blind to the damage, and the missing part landed on farmland. Passengers and people on the ground rely on independent investigators and a regulator to determine what failed and make the findings public. Right now, the NCAA is deferring to the NSIB, the operator hasn't commented, and the passenger count is unknown. Meanwhile, the sector's money story is one of fast growth and fresh capital-market fundraising. Expansion raises the stakes for oversight, and the public has a clear interest in a full, timely NSIB report.