Sadness was caused by the news of Falcon 50 south of , in Turkey, which was carrying high-ranking officials, including the chief of the General Staff of the Libyan Army. All on board died.
According to information from Turkish and Greek media, the list of victims seems to include a Greek flight attendant named Maria Pappa, who worked in the crew of the fatal Falcon 50.
Although her presence in the official announcement by the Greek authorities has not yet been fully confirmed, initial information and reports from journalists and publications indicate that Maria Pappa was a member of the crew on board the plane during the tragic flight.
The information has caused great excitement in Greece, with the identification of the flight attendant remaining at the center of interest as .
What happened
Tragic. All on board died after the crash of a Dassault Falcon 50. Among the dead is the chief of the general staff of the Libyan army, Mohamed Ali Ahmed Al-Haddad.
“This happened after a tragic and painful incident while they were returning from an official visit to the Turkish city of Ankara. This serious loss is a great loss to the nation, to the military establishment and to the entire people,” Libyan Prime Minister Abdulhamid Dbeiba said in a statement.
Turkish Interior Minister Ali Gerlikaya said the plane had taken off from Ankara’s Esenboga Airport at 17:10 GMT bound for Tripoli and that radio contact was lost at 17:52 GMT. It said authorities located the wreckage of the plane near the village of Kesikkavac in Ankara’s Haimana district.
The causes of the crash are unknown
Little is known so far about the cause of the crash. What we do know is that the pilot of the Dassault Falcon 50 had requested to carry out, but there was no communication.
Turkish Justice Minister Yilmaz Tudz said an investigation into the crash had been launched. The Tripoli-based government of national unity said in a statement that the prime minister had instructed the defense minister to send an official delegation to Ankara to monitor the proceedings.
Walid Ellafi, the government’s minister of political affairs and communication, told Libya Alahrar television that it was unclear when the report on the crash would be ready, but that the plane was a chartered Maltese jet. He added that authorities did not have “sufficient information about its ownership or technical history” but said the matter would be investigated.
Libya’s UN-recognized government of national unity declared three days of national mourning across the country.
Who was on the plane?
The aircraft was carrying a total of five passengers and a crew of three (reportedly French). Initial information indicates that the aircraft was chartered by a Maltese company.
In a statement by the head of the UN-recognized Government of National Unity in Libya, Abdelhamid Dbeiba, it is stated that on board the aircraft, in addition to Mohamed Ali Ahmed Al-Haddad, the Chief of the General Staff of the Army Lt. Gen. Al-Fituri Gabbeel, the director of the military material production service Brigadier General Mahmoud al-Qutawi, the adviser to the commander General Staff of the Armed Forces Professor Mohammed al-Asawi Diab and Press Office photographer Mohammed Omar Ahmed Mahjub.
Because they were in Ankara
The leadership of the Libyan armed forces was on a same-day visit to Ankara, where they met with the Turkish Chief of General Staff, General Selcuk Bayraktaroglu, and Defense Minister Yasar Guler.
On Monday, Turkey’s National Assembly approved a decree by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan extending the stay of Turkish troops in Libya by 24 months, starting January 2, 2026.
