Private Jet Carrying Libya’s Top General Crashes in Turkey

Libya’s Chief of the General Staff, Lieutenant General Mohammed al-Haddad, has been killed in a private jet crash near Ankara, Turkish and Libyan officials confirmed. The aircraft disappeared from radar shortly after takeoff from Ankara’s Esenboğa International Airport.

Photo: commons.wikimedia.org by Eddie Maloney from North Las Vegas, USA, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/

Dassault Falcon 50 EM N987F (2932501063)

Local residents later reported a powerful explosion near the airport. According to the İHA news agency, witnesses said the blast was most likely caused by the crash of an aircraft in Ankara’s Haymana district. Air traffic at the airport was temporarily suspended.

Video footage capturing the moment of the explosion has circulated online. Preliminary reports indicate that the crash was caused by a failure of the aircraft’s electrical systems.

Tripoli and Ankara Confirm Death of Libya’s Chief of Staff

Libyan Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh announced that he had been informed of the death of Mohammed al-Haddad.

“We have received news of the death of the Chief of Staff of the Libyan Army, Lieutenant General Mohammed al-Haddad, and his companions who were returning from Ankara.”

— Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh, Prime Minister of Libya

The information was confirmed by Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya. According to him, five people were on board the crashed Falcon 50 aircraft, including Libya’s Chief of the General Staff.

Yerlikaya stated that the jet, bearing registration number 9H-DFJ, departed Esenboğa Airport at 8:10 p.m. local time and was bound for Tripoli. Communication with the aircraft was lost at 8:52 p.m.

“The crew reported an emergency landing in the Haymana area, after which contact could not be reestablished.”

— Ali Yerlikaya, Minister of the Interior of Turkey

All Passengers Killed in Crash Near Ankara

Search and rescue teams later discovered the wreckage of the Falcon 50.

“The wreckage of the aircraft that departed from Ankara’s Esenboğa Airport for Tripoli was found by our gendarmerie units two kilometers south of the village of Kesikkavak in the Haymana district.”

— Ali Yerlikaya

According to preliminary information, there were no survivors. Turkish authorities informed Libyan officials that all passengers aboard the aircraft carrying the Libyan military delegation had been killed, Al Jazeera reported.