Ankara, Dec 24 (AP) Search and recovery teams on Wednesday stepped up operations at the site of a plane crash in Turkiye that killed Libya’s army chief and seven others, as authorities worked to secure the area and recover the aircraft’s flight recorders after overnight rain and dense fog.
The private jet was carrying Gen. Muhammad Ali Ahmad al-Haddad, Libya’s top military commander in western Libya, along with four other senior officers and three crew members. The aircraft crashed on Tuesday after taking off from Ankara, killing everyone on board. Libyan officials said a technical malfunction caused the crash.
The Libyan delegation was returning to Tripoli after high-level defence talks in Ankara aimed at strengthening military cooperation between the two countries. Libyan Prime Minister Abdul-Hamid Dbeibah confirmed the deaths, calling the incident a “tragic accident” and a “great loss” for Libya.
Al-Haddad played a key role in UN-backed efforts to unify Libya’s fractured military. The other officers killed were Gen. Al-Fitouri Ghraibil, head of Libya’s ground forces; Brig. Gen. Mahmoud Al-Qatawi, chief of the military manufacturing authority; Mohammed Al-Asawi Diab, adviser to the chief of staff; and Mohammed Omar Ahmed Mahjoub, a military photographer. The identities of the three crew members were not immediately disclosed.
Turkish officials said the Falcon 50 business jet took off from Ankara’s Esenboga Airport at 8:30 pm and lost contact around 40 minutes later after reporting an electrical fault and requesting an emergency landing. The aircraft was redirected back to Esenboga but disappeared from radar while descending.
The wreckage was later located near Kesikkavak village in Haymana district, about 70 km south of Ankara. Gendarmerie police sealed off the area, while Turkiye’s disaster management agency AFAD set up a mobile coordination centre. Specialised vehicles were deployed due to muddy terrain.
Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya is expected to visit the crash site along with prosecutors leading the investigation. Libya is also likely to send a team to assist Turkish authorities.
During their visit, al-Haddad had met Turkish Defence Minister Yasar Guler and other officials. The crash occurred a day after Turkiye’s parliament approved a two-year extension of the mandate for Turkish troops deployed in Libya under a 2019 security agreement.
Libya has remained divided since the 2011 uprising that toppled Muammar Gaddafi, with rival administrations in the east and west backed by foreign powers and militias. Turkiye has supported the Tripoli-based western government while recently seeking improved ties with the eastern administration. (AP)
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