A private jet carrying Libya’s top military commander and several officers crashed after taking off from Ankara’s Esenboga airport, killing all eight people aboard.
The Crash
The aircraft, a Falcon 50 business jet, departed at 8:30 p.m. from Ankara and lost contact 40 minutes later. Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya posted that the plane had issued an emergency landing signal near Haymana before all communication ceased. Burhanettin Duran, head of Turkish presidential communications, said the jet had notified air traffic control of an electrical fault and requested an emergency landing, but disappeared from radar while descending.
Security camera footage shown on local television stations captured a sudden burst of light over Haymana, which appeared to be an explosion.
Victims
- Gen. Muhammad Ali Ahmad al-Haddad – Libya’s military chief
- Gen. Al-Fitouri Ghraibil – head of Libya’s ground forces
- Brig. Gen. Mahmoud Al-Qatawi – head of the military manufacturing authority
- Mohammed Al-Asawi Diab – advisor to the chief of staff
- Mohammed Omar Ahmed Mahjoub – military photographer for the chief of staff’s office
The identities of the three crew members were not immediately known.
Investigation
Turkish officials found the wreckage near the village of Kesikkavak in Haymana, about 70 kilometers south of Ankara. The Justice Ministry assigned four prosecutors to the case, a standard procedure for such incidents. Libya’s Prime Minister Abdul-Hamid Dbeibah confirmed the deaths and described the tragedy as a “great loss” for the country. A government statement on Facebook announced that Libya would send a team to Ankara to work with Turkish authorities on the investigation.
Political Context
The delegation was in Ankara for high-level defense talks aimed at boosting military cooperation between Libya’s western government and Turkey. The visit followed Turkey’s parliament approving a two-year extension of its troops’ mandate in Libya, which had been deployed under a 2019 security and military cooperation agreement with the Tripoli-based government.
Key Takeaways
- The Falcon 50 crashed after takeoff from Ankara, killing all eight on board.
- The crash involved Libya’s top military commander and four senior officers.
- Turkish authorities are investigating the technical malfunction that caused the accident.
The tragedy underscores the fragile security situation in Libya and the complexities of Turkey’s involvement in the country’s ongoing conflicts.
