Latest developments in the incident involving the explosion of the Libyan Chief of Staff’s plane in Türkiye
The Libyan government announced that it has sent a delegation from the Ministry of Defense to the Turkish capital, Ankara, to follow up on the investigation related to the plane crash of Chief of Staff Mohamed al Haddad, which resulted in his death along with four of his companions, including Major General al Fitouri Ghrabil, Brigadier General Mahmoud al Qutiwi, Advisor Mohammed al Assawi and photographer Mohamed Mahjoub.
The government clarified that the delegation will work in direct coordination with the competent Turkish authorities to ensure the completion of investigations in accordance with the approved legal frameworks.
For his part, Turkish Justice Minister Yılmaz Tunç confirmed that the Public Prosecution in Ankara has opened an official investigation into the accident, while aviation experts have suggested the hypothesis of a technical malfunction as the primary cause.
The last message from the French-made Falcon 50 aircraft took off from Ankara airport towards Tripoli, but sent an emergency message 35 minutes later due to an electrical malfunction, before it lost contact with it and crashed in the Hemana area near the Turkish capital.
The crash was followed by a large explosion believed to have been caused by fuel ignition, which scattered debris over a wide area.
The aircraft bears the Maltese registration mark “9H-DFS” and belongs to Harmony Jets, a company specializing in the operation of business jets and private flights.
The aircraft was built in the late 1980s, making it more than 37 years of service, but it’s still able to operate efficiently if approved maintenance programs are adhered to.
The Falcon 50 has three engines and a long-range range of up to 6,000 kilometers, as well as a top speed of 900 km/h, and is designed to transport VIPs and diplomatic delegations.
Future steps of the investigation Turkish authorities confirmed that the investigations will include a review of maintenance work, technical procedures and ground crew, while examining whether the explosion occurred in the air or after the plane hit the ground.
The Ministry of Interior of Libya’s Government of National Unity announced on Friday that Germany apologized for not conducting an analysis of the data of the black box of the stricken plane, which was carrying Chief of Staff Mohamed al Haddad and his companions, due to the lack of technical capabilities necessary to deal with this type of aircraft.
In a statement on Facebook, the ministry confirmed that it had been agreed with Türkiye to choose Britain as a neutral country to complete the necessary technical procedures regarding the plane that crashed on Tuesday, half an hour after it took off from Ankara airport.
The ministry said that it was decided to transfer the bodies of the dead tomorrow morning to the city of Tripoli.
The plane was carrying Chief of Staff Mohamed al Haddad and a number of his companions, and the Libyan Government of National Unity announced an agreement with the Turkish authorities to send the plane’s black box to Germany to ensure accurate technical analysis.
However, Germany apologized for not completing the investigation and analysis of the black box data of the plane, which prompted the Libyan government in Tripoli to agree with the Turkish government to choose Britain as a neutral party to complete the investigations and technical examinations.
