Plane carrying Libyan military delegation crashes near Ankara

A private jet carrying a delegation that included Libyan Chief of General Staff Mohammed Ali Ahmed al-Haddad crashed near Ankara.

Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya stated in a post on X that the wreckage of the Falcon 50 jet was found near Haymana after it disappeared while flying from Ankara to Tripoli on Tuesday evening.

Turkish officials announced that the plane reported an electrical malfunction after takeoff and requested an emergency landing. The jet took off from Ankara Esenboğa Airport shortly after 20:00 local time and alerted air traffic control a few minutes later, after which it was granted permission to return to the airport.

Director of Communications Burhanettin Duran explained that the plane disappeared from radar during its descent and communication could not be established.

Libya’s Tripoli-based government announced that other passengers who died included Land Forces Commander Fattori Garbil, Head of the Military Industrialization Service Mahmoud al-Fadhavi, Military Advisor Mohammed al-Asavi, and photographer Mohammed al-Mahjoub. There were also three crew members on board.

According to FlightRadar24 data, the Dassault Falcon 50 was 37 years old and operated by Harmony Jets. The plane had flown from Tripoli to Ankara on December 22.

Libya declared three days of mourning and announced it would send a delegation to Ankara to coordinate with Turkish authorities, who have launched an investigation into the incident.

Libya is divided between the internationally recognized government in the capital, Tripoli, and rival authorities in the east. Ankara is a key supporter of the Tripoli government.

Türkiye maintains a military presence in the country, providing training, equipment, and consulting support to Libyan forces. This role helped shift the balance of power during the Libyan civil war. The Turkish Grand National Assembly (TBMM) extended the mandate for its forces in Libya by two years on Monday.

Al-Haddad was appointed Libyan Chief of General Staff in 2020 after a long career in the armed forces. Chief of General Staff Selçuk Bayraktaroğlu hosted al-Haddad early Tuesday, holding bilateral and delegation-level talks attended by top commanders from both countries.

Born in Misrata in 1967, al-Haddad graduated from military school in 1987. In February 2011, he was one of the first officers from Misrata to leave the army to join the anti-Muammar Gaddafi rebellion. He soon became one of the leaders of the Halbus Brigade. The Halbus Brigade was one of the leading groups that captured the city of Tawergha by attacking the Gaddafi-era army in coordination with NATO.

The group known as “Misrata fighters” were also the ones who lynched and killed Gaddafi following a NATO airstrike.

Al-Haddad was also one of the leading commanders defending Tripoli against Khalifa Haftar’s Libyan Armed Forces in 2019–2020.