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Turkish authorities have opened a formal investigation into the crash of a Libyan military aircraft that killed the North African nation's top general and four other senior officers near the capital, Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunc announced late Tuesday.
The Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor's Office assigned five prosecutors to examine all aspects of Monday evening's incident, which claimed the life of Libyan Chief of General Staff General Muhammed Ali Al-Haddad and his delegation as they departed Türkiye following an official visit.
"One deputy chief prosecutor is coordinating four public prosecutors" in the probe, Tunc said in a statement on social media. The investigation "is being conducted thoroughly and meticulously in all its aspects."
The Falcon 50 business jet went down in the Haymana district approximately 75 kilometers south of Ankara after reporting a technical emergency shortly following its 8:10 p.m. departure from Esenboga Airport. Air traffic controllers lost all contact with the aircraft at 8:52 p.m., just minutes after receiving an emergency landing notification.
Turkish gendarmerie forces discovered the crash site roughly 2 kilometers south of Kesikkavak Village in Haymana, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya confirmed. The remote location required coordinated deployment of search and rescue personnel after the aircraft vanished from radar.
Authorities temporarily closed Ankara airspace following the loss of contact as emergency responders mobilized to locate the missing plane. The wreckage was found several hours after the initial distress call.
Libyan Prime Minister Abdulhamid Aldabaiba identified all five victims and declared the incident a national tragedy for Libya's military establishment. Alongside Al-Haddad, the deceased included 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 Advisor Mohamed Al-Asawi Diab, and media office photographer Mohamed Omar Ahmed Mahjoub.
"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," Aldabaiba said in a statement. He described the officers as models of "discipline, responsibility and national commitment."
The Libyan delegation had spent Monday in the Turkish capital for official consultations. Al-Haddad met with Defense Minister Yasar Guler and Turkish Land Forces Commander General Metin Tokel hours before boarding the ill-fated flight. The visit came at the invitation of Turkish Chief of General Staff General Selcuk Bayraktaroglu, reflecting ongoing military cooperation between Ankara and Libya's Tripoli-based government.
The twin-engine Falcon 50, manufactured by French aerospace company Dassault Aviation, entered service in 1976 and remains widely used for executive and government transport. The jet, registered as tail number 9H-DFJ, can accommodate up to nine passengers and was bound for Tripoli when the crew reported technical difficulties.
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