A private jet linked to Nigerian businessman Kola Karim, which lost its main cabin door shortly after taking off from Abuja, reportedly experienced four flight-control failures within four months in 2005, according to records from the United Kingdom’s Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB).
The aircraft, registered as T7-SEI, is a Bombardier Challenger 604 built in Canada in September 2004. It is associated with Shoreline Energy International, the oil and gas company founded by Karim, and has been linked to operations by Triton Aviation and Empire Aviation San Marino. Records cited in the report indicate that Shoreline acquired the aircraft in May 2024.
The first reported technical failure occurred on 12 July 2005, when the aircraft’s stabiliser trim channel disengaged during cruise and could not be re-engaged. The crew diverted to Toulouse, France, where engineers reportedly found contamination on the motherboard of the Horizontal Stabiliser Trim Control Unit. Further incidents were recorded on 18 August and 14 September that year, involving stabiliser trim and other flight-control systems. The September incident forced the crew to divert to Beirut, Lebanon.
A fourth incident occurred on 11 November 2005, when the stabiliser trim malfunctioned while the aircraft was flying over southern England. According to the investigation records cited by SaharaReporters, the system continued moving towards an almost full nose-down position despite the crew’s attempts to correct it. The aircraft diverted to London Heathrow Airport. Following the incidents, Bombardier issued service bulletins, while Transport Canada introduced airworthiness directives requiring inspections, cleaning and replacement of affected control units on relevant Challenger 604 aircraft.
The historical incidents have come to light following the jet’s door separation during a flight from Abuja to Lagos on 15 October 2026. The crew declared an emergency shortly after take-off and returned safely to Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport. The Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau confirmed that the detached door had been recovered and secured, and that an investigation had begun to establish the circumstances surrounding the incident. The available information does not establish a connection between the aircraft’s 2005 flight-control failures and the recent door separation.
