According to information, the pilot of the jet carrying the head of the army, Mohammed Ali Ahmed al-Haddad, reportedly requested an emergency landing in the area near , but all communication was subsequently lost.
The aircraft, Falcon 50, . Flight tracking data showed aircraft diverting away from Ankara’s Esenboga Airport at the same time communication with the jet was lost, NTV reported.
Contact was lost with the Falcon 50 type business jet, tail number 9H-DFJ, which took off from Ankara Esenboğa Airport to Tripoli at 20.10 this evening, as of 20.52.
An emergency landing notification was received from the aircraft in question around Haymana; but then by plane…
— Ali Yerlikaya (@AliYerlikaya)
What happened
The Turkish authorities were alerted when a Falcon 50 private jet carrying the Chief of the General Staff of the Libyan Army, Mohamed Ali Al-Haddad, disappeared from radar shortly after taking off from Esenboga Airport bound for Tripoli.
The competent authorities are following the case, while so far no further details have been given on the circumstances under which contact was lost or on the course of the aircraft. According to Turkish media reports, an explosion was heard in the area, while the authorities temporarily banned air traffic around Esenboga Airport.
The Turkish Ministry of Defense had announced earlier in the week the visit of the Libyan head of the GEETHA to Turkey.
Video
Videos are circulating on social media that allegedly record the explosion and crash of the aircraft, while investigations by the authorities are in full swing to establish the exact causes of the incident.
A Falcon 50 jet carrying Libyan Chief of the General Staff has reportedly crashed near Ankara, Türkiye – Turkish authorities.
The video reportedly shows the moment of the crash.
— Anton Gerashchenko (@Gerashchenko_en)
FIRST IMAGE OF THE FALLING JET!!
The private jet carrying the Libyan Chief of General Staff, which took off from Esenboğa, Ankara, disappeared from the radar, and the first image of the plane’s crash has emerged.
Ankara airspace was closed to flights due to the incident.
Minister of National Defense Yaşar Güler and Libya…
— Hakan Uludağ (@hakanuludaggzt)
