Bono ‘lucky to be alive’ after door of his private jet falls off mid-flight

Singer and friends were travelling from Dublin to Berlin for music awards

Bono is “extremely lucky” to be alive after the rear door of his private jet fell off midway though a flight from Dublin to Berlin.

The U2 frontman was on board his £50 million Learjet 60 D-CGEO with four friends heading to the Bambi International Music awards when the incident took place yesterday afternoon (November 12).

Bono was flying to Berlin ahead of his bandmates to attend a diplomatic event with Gerd Mueller, the German minister of economic coorperation and development.

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However, when the plane reached the German coast, flying at about 8,000ft, its tailgate became detached. The door was outside the pressurised area of the cabin so there was no loss of pressure and need for oxygen masks, but when the travellers landed they noticed that all their luggage was missing.

“He was extremely lucky, the plane could have gone down,” a source told the Irish Daily Mail. “About an hour into the journey they heard a big thud coming from the rear of the plane. They were startled for a bit but they continued on and made the descent into Berlin airport.

“When they landed they were horrified to learn that the compartment at the rear of the plane had completely detached. The entire door along with Bono and his companion’s luggage had fallen out mid-air.

“They were at an altitude where anything could have happened and they are feeling very lucky to be alive.”

German aviation authorities are currently investigating the incident and local police are scouring the areas around the airport for the missing luggage. Berlin airport spokesman Ralf Kunkel said: “The jet landed safely and, according to our knowledge, there was no danger of a crash.”

Despite the incident, U2 performed at the Bambi Awards. Although no dates have yet been released, the band are expected to tour in 2015.

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