The mid-air incident occurred during a two-hour flight from Dublin to Berlin, where U2 were set to accept an award at the Bambi International awards, a German media award ceremony. The other members of the band weren't on the plane; Bono flew out early to attend a diplomatic function with the German minister of economic cooperation and development, Gerd Mueller.

A source close to the singer told the Daily Mail: "He was extremely lucky, the plane could have gone down. About an hour into the journey they heard a big thud coming from the rear of the plane�The entire door along with Bono and his companions' luggage had fallen out mid-air.

"They don't know if the door and the contents landed over water or land but they were extremely lucky. They were at an altitude where anything could have happened and they are all feeling very lucky to be alive."