ANKARA, TURKEY – Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya confirmed that a Falcon 50 business jet (tail number 9H-DFJ) carrying Libyan Army Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Mohammed Ali Al-Haddad and four others crashed near Ankara’s Haymana district.
The aircraft departed Ankara’s Esenboğa Airport at 8:10 p.m. local time bound for Tripoli. About 42 minutes later, at 8:52 p.m., radio contact with the control tower was lost. Authorities said the jet had sent an emergency landing signal before communication was cut off.
Flight tracking data showed precautionary diversions of several flights from Esenboğa Airport. Turkish media reported that the private jet lost radio contact within Ankara’s airspace, raising immediate concerns about the Libyan delegation onboard.
Earlier, Turkey’s Ministry of Defense confirmed that Al-Haddad had been in Ankara on an official visit, meeting his Turkish counterpart and senior military officials as part of ongoing defense and security cooperation between the two countries.
