By Annette Ikponmwonba | November 13th, 2026
Key Points
· The Nigeria Safety Investigation Bureau says the door of private jet T7-SEI (flight DWC052) detached mid-air in October when a crew member went to recheck it
· The preliminary report was released on Thursday
· The aircraft was flying from Abuja to Lagos and returned to Abuja after declaring an emergency
· During the initial climb, the Pilot Monitoring noticed cabin altitude rising unusually fast, at about 4,000 feet per minute
· The captain asked the cabin crew to double-check the door, and the door opened as she approached for a closer look
· The crew transmitted MAYDAY at 17:19:20, and air traffic control cleared them for an Instrument Landing System approach
Main Story
The Nigeria Safety Investigation Bureau has revealed that the door of a private jet, registration T7-SEI and flight identification DWC052, which detached from the aircraft mid-air in October, flew open when a crew member attempted to recheck whether it was properly closed, following an instruction from the pilot. The details were contained in a preliminary report released on Thursday, which described how the flight crew scrambled to manage the situation and declared an emergency.
The aircraft, headed to Lagos from Abuja, was forced to declare an emergency and make an air return before landing at the Abuja airport. According to the report, trouble began during the initial climb when the Pilot Monitoring observed an unusually rapid increase in cabin altitude at approximately 4,000 feet per minute. Suspecting a pressurisation problem, the captain instructed the pilot to reduce the rate of climb. The development led the pilot to suspect that the door may not be properly closed.
The report noted that “At about 17:19:07, the captain instructed the cabin crew to double-check the door,” warning that the cabin altitude increase was unusually high. The cabin crew member first inspected the passenger-crew door from her seated position and reported that it appeared properly closed, with the green indicator band aligned. The pilot was not satisfied and asked her “to stand up and take a closer look.” As she approached the door for a closer inspection, it suddenly opened.
The Issues
The central question is why a door that appeared closed, with its green indicator band aligned, opened during a routine check. The rapid cabin altitude rise suggests the door was not properly secured or sealed from the start, yet the visual indicator apparently gave a reassuring reading. The preliminary report does not say what caused this, and the full investigation will need to establish whether the cause was a mechanical fault, the door’s latching, or something in the pre-flight and closing procedures.
There is also a safety issue in the check itself. Sending a crew member to stand and approach a door on an aircraft climbing with an unexplained pressurisation problem carried obvious risk. How crews are trained to respond to suspected door-seal issues in flight is likely to feature in the investigators’ wider findings, On the positive side, the crew’s response appears to have prevented a worse outcome. The captain took control immediately, the First Officer took over monitoring duties, and air traffic control was alerted within seconds. The report is preliminary, so conclusions on cause and responsibility remain open.
What’s Being Said
The NSIB report gives a timeline of the crew’s actions. After the door opened, the captain “immediately took control of the aircraft,” while the First Officer took over the Pilot Monitoring duties. At 17:19:20, DWC052 declared an emergency, repeatedly transmitting “MAYDAY, MAYDAY, MAYDAY,” and told Abuja Radar Control that the door was open.
Abuja Radar Control acknowledged at 17:19:51: “Door opened copied, MAYDAY copied, confirm able to turn right now.” At 17:20:20, the crew confirmed they could turn right and asked for a heading and altitude, and controllers approved a northbound heading. At 17:25:35, the pilot sought clearance to begin an approach. The controller reported the aircraft nine nautical miles north of the airfield at POKMO and cleared it for an Instrument Landing System approach, and instructed the crew to report when established.
What’s Next
The preliminary report is the first stage of the investigation, and the NSIB is expected to publish a final report with probable causes and safety recommendations. Attention will turn to whether it finds a fault in the door mechanism or a procedural lapse, and whether any safety advisory goes out to operators of similar aircraft, The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority and the aircraft’s operator may also respond to the findings, including on maintenance and crew procedures.
Bottom Line
A private jet’s door opened in flight as a crew member went to check it, forcing a MAYDAY and an air return to Abuja. The preliminary report shows quick crew action, but why the door was not secure despite a normal indicator remains the key question for the final investigation.
