BREAKING: Army Chief, Others Killed As Jet Crashes
A private jet carrying Libya’s Chief of Army Staff, Mohammed Ali Ahmed Al-Haddad, has crashed in Turkey, killing him and seven others on board, Turkish authorities have confirmed.
According to Reuters, the Dassault Falcon 50 jet departed Ankara’s Esenboga Airport at about 5:17pm GMT on Tuesday, heading for Tripoli. About 16 minutes after takeoff, the crew reported a serious electrical malfunction and requested an emergency landing.
Turkey’s communications directorate head, Burhanettin Duran, said air traffic control immediately redirected the aircraft back to Esenboga Airport and activated emergency procedures. However, the jet disappeared from radar at 5:36pm GMT while descending for landing, and contact was lost shortly afterward.
The wreckage was later discovered near Kesikkavak village in the Haymana district, south of Ankara.
Turkey’s Interior Minister, Ali Yerlikaya, who visited the crash site, said both the cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder were recovered in the early hours of Wednesday.
“The voice recorder was found at 2:45am and the flight data recorder at 3:20am. Analysis has already begun,” he said, adding that investigations are ongoing.
Libya’s internationally recognised government confirmed that those killed included Al-Haddad, four members of his entourage, and three crew members on the leased aircraft.
Libyan Prime Minister Abdulhamid Dbeibah described Al-Haddad’s death as “a great loss for the nation,” as the tragedy sent shockwaves through Libya’s already fragile political and security environment.
In response, Libya declared three days of national mourning, with flags ordered to be flown at half-mast across the country.
Mohammed Al-Menfi, head of the Tripoli-based Presidential Council, announced that the Deputy Chief of Staff would temporarily assume Al-Haddad’s duties to ensure continuity within the military.
“We want to emphasize the continuity of operations as a military institution,” Al-Menfi said in an interview with Libya Alahrar TV.
Al-Haddad, a native of Misrata, was appointed Chief of Staff in 2020 as part of efforts to unify Libya’s divided armed forces following years of conflict after the 2011 overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi.
Libyan officials revealed that the jet was leased and registered in Malta, noting that ownership details and maintenance records will be central to the ongoing investigation.
Turkish authorities say all relevant agencies are involved in determining the cause of the crash, as both Turkey and Libya await answers on how a routine flight ended in tragedy within minutes.
