ANKARA, Turkiye, December 27 (ANI): Turkish and Libyan authorities have launched a joint investigation into the crash of a private jet near Ankara that killed Libya’s army chief, Mohammed Ali Ahmed al-Haddad, along with seven others, Al Jazeera reported.
The inquiry, led by the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, is examining technical evidence, flight recordings, crew conduct, and the aircraft’s maintenance history. France’s civil aviation investigation agency, BEA, will also participate in the probe.
General al-Haddad had been in Ankara earlier this week for discussions with senior Turkish defense officials, including his counterpart Selcuk Bayraktaroglu and Defense Minister Yasar Guler.
Authorities said the French-manufactured Dassault Falcon 50 took off from Ankara Esenboga Airport at 2:17 pm on Tuesday for Libya but reported an electrical malfunction 16 minutes into the flight and requested an emergency return. Radar contact was lost at 2:41 pm (1741 GMT) as the aircraft was descending toward the runway. Officials said there was only a two-minute gap between the emergency alert and the crash.
The crash site near Kesikkavak village in Ankara’s Haymana district, around 70 km south of the capital, has been secured by Turkish security forces. All debris, including the cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder, or “black boxes,” has been recovered for detailed analysis.
Investigators are reviewing air traffic control communications, radar data, and airport security camera footage. They are also examining the crew’s rest schedules, medical histories, and any food or medication consumed before the flight. Records of the aircraft’s most recent maintenance checks are under scrutiny, and fuel samples from the wreckage and airport storage tanks have been collected to rule out contamination or incorrect fuel use. Weather data from the time of the crash has also been requested. Authorities said the investigation could expand to include manufacturers and maintenance contractors if evidence suggests a structural or design flaw.
Gursel Tokmakoglu, former head of the Turkish Air Force’s intelligence agency, described the crash as an international incident, given the involvement of multiple countries. “The Libyan government chartered an aircraft from a foreign country. The aircraft was manufactured in another country. The pilots were from elsewhere. The passengers were Libyan, and the crash happened in Turkiye. If you also consider insurance companies and international aviation bodies, this is clearly a multinational incident,” he said.
Turkish Transport Minister Abdulkadir Uraloglu noted that the black boxes could be sent abroad for further examination to ensure transparency. Tokmakoglu added that preliminary findings indicated the aircraft transmitted the 7700 emergency “squawk” code and that the crew reported an electrical malfunction, but he cautioned against drawing premature conclusions, noting that an electrical failure can trigger other problems.
Forensic examinations of General al-Haddad and the other victims were completed early Saturday, and the bodies were repatriated to Libya following a ceremony at an airbase outside Ankara.
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