The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, NCAA, says it has commenced investigation into the incident of a Dana airline planes’s door on Wednesday.

The spokesperson of the NCAA, Sam Adurogboye, confirmed the incident and said a four- member team from the NCAA had inspected the aircraft for airworthiness at Abuja before its return to operations.

Mr. Adurogboye also stated that the aircraft had been identified to enable the agency conduct further investigations into the incident.

PREMIUM TIMES reported how passengers expressed fears when the exit door of the airline’s aircraft fell off upon landing in Abuja airport on Wednesday.

The airline in its reaction said the incident could not have occurred if the door wasn’t tampered with by a passenger or crew member.

Kingsley Ezenwa, the airline’s spokesperson, said an investigation would be conducted into the incident.

But passengers who spoke exclusively with PREMIUM TIMES debunked the claim, saying no passenger tampered with the door.

“It was very horrible. The flight was noisy with vibrations from the floor panel. I only noticed the emergency door latch mid-flight was loose facing 5,0clock and dangling,” Dapo Sanwo, a passenger on the flight, said.

“I tried to call the air hostesses about it. But the fasten seat belt was on and the hostess was head bowed. When we landed and the plane was taxiing back to the park point, we heard a poof like explosion followed by a surge of breeze and noise. It was terrible.

“The cabin crew tried to say a passenger pulled the hatch which everyone denied.

“People started taking videos and pictures and eventually the rare tail of the plane was opened to ease passengers out of the plane,” he told PREMIUM TIMES.