On Tuesday evening, December 23, a Falcon 50 private jet carrying Libya’s army chief of staff Mohammed al-Haddad and four other senior military officials crashed south of Ankara, Turkish authorities reported. 💔
Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said gendarmerie units found the wreckage near Kesikkavak village in the Haymana district. The jet departed Ankara’s Esenboga Airport at 8:10 p.m. local time, bound for Tripoli, but contact was lost at 8:52 p.m., just after the crew issued an emergency landing notification.
Libyan Prime Minister Abdul-Hamid Dbeibah confirmed the tragic deaths, explaining that the group was returning from high-level military talks in Ankara. Earlier that day, al-Haddad met with Turkish Defense Minister Yasar Guler and Chief of the General Staff Selcuk Bayraktaroglu to discuss defense cooperation and regional security.
Video footage from Türkiye’s Anadolu Agency showed a bright flash at the moment of impact and debris scattered across the crash site. Air traffic in Ankara was briefly suspended but has since returned to normal.
Authorities in both Libya and Türkiye have formed an official investigation committee to determine what went wrong. As details emerge, this sudden loss has shocked the military community and raised questions about the future of Libya’s defense leadership.
The passing of al-Haddad, a rising figure in Libya’s army, underscores the fragility of aviation safety and the broader security challenges facing the nation. 🕊️
Reference(s):
Libya's army chief of staff and four others killed in plane crash
cgtn.com
