Turkish investigators have ruled out sabotage in the plane crash that killed Libya's army chief and seven others on Tuesday.
The finding brings clarity to a tragedy that claimed eight lives, including three French crew members. A Turkish official told Al Jazeera that early findings point to technical failure rather than foul play.
'Initial reports from the investigation rule out any sabotage to the Libyan Army Chief plane crash, initial cause is technical failure,' the official said.
The crash killed Libya's top military commander, General Mohammed Ali Ahmed Al-Haddad, alongside four senior Libyan military officials and a three-member French flight crew, according to CNN. Turkish broadcaster CNNTurk confirmed the crew's nationalities.
IBTimes UK reported earlier that the Falcon 50 business jet went down shortly after departing Ankara's Esenboga Airport on Tuesday evening.
The Libyan victims were Chief of Staff of the Ground Forces Major General Al-Faituri Ghraibil, Director of the Military Manufacturing Agency Brigadier Mahmoud Al-Qatiwi, Chief of Staff Adviser Mohamed Al-Asawi Diab, and media office photographer Mohamed Omar Ahmed Mahjoub.
Electrical Failure Sparked Desperate Emergency Call
The aircraft was in trouble almost immediately. Burhanettin Duran, head of Turkey's presidential communications directorate, said the pilots reported an electrical failure to air traffic control shortly after takeoff.
'A private jet carrying Libyan Chief of General Staff Mohammed al-Haddad, four members of his entourage and three crew members reported an emergency to the air traffic control centre due to an electrical failure, asking for an emergency landing,' Duran said on X.
The Falcon 50 lifted off from Ankara at 8:10 p.m. local time, bound for Tripoli. Within 42 minutes, it had vanished from radar.
Turkey's Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said contact was lost at 8:52 p.m., according to Turkey Today. The crew managed to request an emergency landing near Haymana, a district about 75 kilometres (46.6 miles) south of Ankara, but all communication ceased before controllers could guide them down.
Night Sky Lit Up by Explosion
Residents of Haymana witnessed the final moments. Security camera footage broadcast on Turkish television captured the night sky suddenly bursting into light, NBC News reported.
Turkish gendarmerie forces found the wreckage roughly two kilometres (1.24 miles) south of Kesikkavak Village. The remote location, far from major roads, complicated rescue efforts. Emergency responders had to coordinate carefully to reach the site.
Ankara's airport shut down temporarily. Flights were diverted to other cities whilst authorities scrambled search-and-rescue teams across the darkened countryside.
Crash Comes Day After Parliament Extends Troop Mandate
The timing has raised eyebrows. Less than 24 hours before the crash, Turkey's parliament voted to extend Turkish troop deployment in Libya for another two years.
Al-Haddad had spent Tuesday in high-level talks with Turkish Defence Minister Yasar Guler and his Turkish counterpart, General Selcuk Bayraktaroglu. The meetings centred on deepening military cooperation between Ankara and Libya's UN-recognised government in Tripoli.
Turkey has backed the Tripoli government since 2020, sending military trainers and later signing a maritime agreement that Greece and Egypt both oppose. The two countries also reached a preliminary energy exploration deal in 2022.
Libya Mourns Loss of Military Leader
Libyan Prime Minister Abdulhamid Dbeibah announced three days of national mourning, describing the crash as a 'tragic accident' that cost Libya experienced military leadership.
'This great loss is a tremendous loss for the homeland, for the military institution, and for all the people, as we have lost men who served their country with sincerity and dedication,' Dbeibah said.
Al-Haddad wasn't just another general. Appointed chief of general staff in August 2020, he commanded western Libya's military forces and played a pivotal role in UN efforts to reunify the country's fractured armed forces. Libya's military has been split along regional lines for years, mirroring the broader political division that has plagued the country since Muammar Gaddafi's overthrow in 2011.
Turkish Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunc said four prosecutors will lead the investigation, Bloomberg reported. It's standard procedure for crashes of this magnitude.
Questions remain about the aircraft itself. Libyan state minister Walid Ellafi told broadcaster Libya Alahrar that officials lack 'sufficient information regarding its ownership or technical history'. The Falcon 50, registration number 9H-DFJ, was leased from a Maltese company. Investigators will dig into its maintenance records and flight history as they piece together what went wrong in those final 42 minutes.
