Did the Libyan general’s plane request an emergency landing? Turkey speaks as eight die in private jet crash

A private jet carrying Libya’s most senior military commander and a high-level defence delegation crashed shortly after take-off from Turkey’s capital Ankara, killing all eight people on board, Turkish and Libyan officials confirmed on Tuesday. Turkish authorities said the aircraft had requested an emergency landing after reporting a technical malfunction, but initial investigations have ruled out sabotage.

Senior Libyan military leadership among the dead

Those killed in the crash included Mohammed Ali Ahmed al-Haddad, the Libyan army’s chief of general staff, four other senior officers and three crew members. The aircraft went down minutes after departing Ankara, where the delegation had been attending high-level defence talks.

Libyan Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah confirmed the deaths, describing the incident as a “tragic accident” that occurred as the delegation was returning home.

“This great tragedy is a great loss for the nation, the military establishment, and all the people,” Dbeibah said in a statement. “We have lost men who served their country with sincerity and dedication and were an example of discipline, responsibility, and national commitment.”

Emergency landing request before radar contact lost

Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said the Dassault Falcon 50 jet took off from Ankara’s Esenboga Airport at 8:10pm local time (17:10 GMT) en route to Tripoli. Radio contact was lost around 40 minutes later.

He said the wreckage was later found near Kesikkavak village in Ankara’s Haymana district, roughly 70 kilometres south of the capital.

Yerlikaya added that the aircraft had issued a request for an emergency landing while flying over Haymana before all communication ceased.

Electrical fault reported to air traffic control

Further details were provided by Burhanettin Duran, head of Turkey’s presidential communications office. He said the aircraft notified air traffic control of an electrical fault and sought permission for an emergency landing.

The jet was redirected back to Esenboga Airport, where preparations were under way for its return. However, the aircraft disappeared from radar while descending for the emergency landing, Duran said.

Security camera footage broadcast by Turkish television channels showed the night sky over Haymana suddenly illuminated by what appeared to be an explosion.

Sabotage ruled out, investigation launched

Turkish officials said that early findings from the investigation had ruled out any sabotage.

In a statement to the Al Jazeera, a Turkish official said that “initial reports from the investigation rule out any sabotage to the Libyan Army Chief plane crash”, adding that the preliminary cause pointed to technical failure.

Turkey’s Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunc said the Ankara chief prosecutor’s office had launched a formal investigation into the incident, with multiple prosecutors assigned to the case.

Who were the other victims?

Alongside al-Haddad, the crash killed:

• Al-Fitouri Gharibil, head of Libya’s ground forces
• Mahmoud Al-Qatawi, who led the Military Manufacturing Authority
• Muhammad Al-Asawi Diab, adviser to the chief of staff
• Muhammad Omar Ahmed Mahjoub, attached to the chief of staff’s office

The identities of the three crew members were not immediately disclosed.

Libyan officials said the aircraft was a leased Maltese jet and that they did not yet have “sufficient information regarding its ownership or technical history”.

National mourning declared in Libya

The UN-recognised Government of National Unity (GNU) in Tripoli announced three days of official mourning. Flags at all state institutions will be flown at half-mast, and official ceremonies and celebrations have been suspended.

Libya will also dispatch an investigative team to Ankara to work alongside Turkish authorities, according to a GNU statement.

A pivotal figure in Libya’s fragile unity efforts

Al-Haddad had served as Libya’s chief of general staff since August 2020, having been appointed by then prime minister Fayez al-Sarraj. He was widely regarded as the most senior military commander in western Libya and played a central role in UN-brokered efforts to reunify the country’s fractured military institutions.

Libya has remained deeply divided since the 2011 NATO-backed uprising that toppled and killed longtime ruler Muammar Gaddafi, with rival administrations based in Tripoli and the eastern city of Benghazi.

Tributes from across Libya’s political divide

Al Jazeera, reporting from Tripoli, described al-Haddad’s death as a “huge loss” to the Libyan military, noting an “outpouring of grief” from across the country, including from rival authorities in the east.

Eastern commander Khalifa Haftar expressed his “deep sorrow over this tragic loss”, while Libya’s House of Representatives in Benghazi offered condolences to the families of those killed.

“Here in Western Libya, it’s extremely fractured. We have powerful armed groups that control vast areas of land,” Traina said. “But Mohammed al-Haddad refused to bow down to the pressure of these armed groups. He was always talking about reconciliation.”

“He was trying to bring the country together. People rallied behind him. They had hope, trust that perhaps possibly that through Mohammed al-Haddad they could broker a deal with eastern Libya and come up with some sort of agreement that will unify this divided country.”

Crash follows renewed Turkish-Libyan military engagement

Turkey’s Ministry of Defence had announced al-Haddad’s visit earlier this week, saying he met Turkish Defence Minister Yasar Guler and senior military officials during talks aimed at strengthening defence cooperation.

The crash occurred one day after Turkey’s parliament voted to extend the mandate of Turkish troops deployed in Libya by a further two years. Ankara has provided military and economic support to the Tripoli-based government since 2020 and later signed maritime demarcation and energy exploration agreements.

More recently, Turkey has sought to broaden its engagement under a “One Libya” policy, increasing contacts with Libya’s eastern faction while maintaining close ties with the UN-recognised government in Tripoli.

Investigations into the cause of the crash are continuing.