A missing aircraft door was reportedly recovered by farmers in the Abuja area after a private jet was forced to return to the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport following a mid-air emergency on Thursday.

The incident has prompted the deployment of investigators by the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB) to establish how the door separated from the aircraft shortly after take-off and whether any safety failures contributed to the occurrence.

The CL60 aircraft, operated by Triton Aviation with registration number T7-SEI and flight identification DWC052, was heading to the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos, when the crew reported that a door had opened in flight.

According to an incident report, the aircraft departed Abuja’s Runway 22 at 4:17 pm UTC but, about three nautical miles from the airport and climbing through 3,000 feet, the crew issued a distress call, repeating “Mayday” three times.

The approach radar controller subsequently directed the aircraft to return to Abuja, while airport fire and rescue personnel and medical teams were alerted and positioned to respond to a possible emergency landing.

At about 4:29 pm UTC, the crew asked air traffic controllers whether they could determine if the door was open. The duty controller attempted to inspect the aircraft with binoculars but could not establish its condition because of the aircraft’s position.

The jet eventually landed safely on Runway 22 at approximately 4:34 pm UTC, about 14 minutes after the distress call. After landing, the controller observed that the door was missing from the aircraft’s fuselage.

The aircraft was subsequently guided to the international apron extension, where it was parked with the assistance of a marshaller.

A video obtained by The PUNCH showed what was reportedly the missing door recovered by farmers returning from their farmland in the Abuja area. In the footage, a man said they had found the object but did not know the aircraft to which it belonged.

The discovery could provide investigators with a physical component relevant to determining the circumstances surrounding the incident, although the precise recovery location and the condition of the door have not been independently established in the available account.

The number of people aboard the aircraft was not immediately known as of the time of filing this report.

The Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection at the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority, Michael Achimugu, confirmed the incident but said the agency could not comment because the investigation fell within the NSIB’s mandate.

Although the bureau had not issued an official statement at the time, a source familiar with the matter confirmed that its management had deployed investigators and would communicate its findings through an official statement.

Triton Aviation could not be reached for comment.

The investigation is expected to establish the circumstances under which the door became detached, while further information from the authorities will be needed to determine the cause and any implications for aircraft safety.