Plane carrying U2's Bono lost hatch while approaching Berlin

[November 14, 2014] BERLIN (Reuters) - A private plane carrying U2 frontman Bono lost its rear hatch while approaching Berlin, but the pilot managed to touch down safely and the Irish rock star was never in danger, airport authorities said on Thursday.

The hatch, 80-centimetre by 100-centimetre (32-inch by 40-inch) in size, fell from the sky somewhere close to Schoenefeld airport, located on the southeastern outskirts of the German capital, the airport spokesman said.

It was unclear why the hatch broke off and German authorities were investigating the incident which took place on Wednesday, he said. The aircraft was carrying five passengers and two crew members.

The Learjet, which came from Dublin, was never in danger of crashing and landed safely, the spokesman added. Bono, 54, came to Berlin to meet German Development Minister Gerd Mueller and to attend an award ceremony on Thursday evening.

(Reporting by Michael Nienaber; Editing by Dominic Evans)

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