The Death of the Chief of the General Staff of Libya: A Plane with Military Command Crashed in Turkey.

According to ТСН: On the evening of December 23, a tragic incident occurred near Ankara: as a result of a private plane crash, Lieutenant General Mohammed Ali Ahmed Al-Haddad, the Chief of the General Staff of Libya, along with other high-ranking military officials, was killed.

The private business jet, which was on a flight with a delegation, disappeared from radar in Ankara province. Subsequently, Turkish security forces found the wreckage of the plane.

According to reports, the Libyan delegation was returning home after an official visit when communication with the plane was suddenly lost. The rescue operation concluded with the unfortunate news that none of the passengers survived.

Chronology of the Catastrophe

The Falcon 50 plane with tail number 9H-DFJ took off from Esenboğa Airport (Ankara) at 7:10 PM Kyiv time heading towards Tripoli. However, it stopped responding by 7:52 PM.

During the flight over the Haymana area, the crew reported issues and requested an emergency landing. The pilots began to dump fuel in preparation for the emergency landing, but did not manage to execute the plan.

The plane crashed in mountainous terrain near the village of Kesikkavak.

Who Was on Board

Important figures for Libya’s defense were killed in the crash. Besides General Al-Haddad, those on board included:

• the commander of the ground forces;
• the head of the military production department;
• the chief of staff's adviser;
• crew members.

The Prime Minister of Libya, Abdul Hamid Dbeiba, confirmed the death of the military officials.

“We received news of the death of the Chief of the General Staff of the Libyan Army and his companions while returning from Ankara,” the statement said.

Causes of the Tragedy

The preliminary version, voiced by the Libyan Minister of Communications, suggests that the crash occurred due to technical failure. This is confirmed by the nature of the plane's maneuvers before disappearing from radar and the attempt at an emergency landing.

General Al-Haddad was in Turkey on the official invitation of his colleague Selçuk Bayraktaroglu and held a meeting with the country's Defense Minister Yasar Guler.

This tragedy has caused a wide resonance in Libya, where the population deeply sympathizes with the families of the deceased. The incident highlights the importance of air transportation safety, especially when it comes to high-ranking officials, and raises many questions about the state of the technical base of the aircraft used in the country.