Crash of Aircraft Carrying Libya Army Commander Near Ankara
An aircraft carrying Lieutenant General Muhammed Ali Ahmed el-Haddad, Chief of the General Staff of Libya, which departed Ankara Airport with five people on board bound for Tripoli, Libya, crashed near Ankara.
According to initial reports, the aircraft requested an emergency landing during the flight and radio contact was subsequently lost. Following the loss of contact, Ankara airspace was temporarily closed and search-and-rescue operations were launched.
Turkish media reported that contact with the aircraft was lost in the vicinity of Haymana, and a Libyan military source told Al Jazeera that the plane, returning from an official mission in Turkey, disappeared from the radar screen.
Turkish rescue teams found the wreckage of the aircraft near Ankara. The Gendarmerie announced that the wreckage was located about two kilometers south of the village of Kesik Kavak in the Haymana district, and the Interior Minister reported that gendarmerie forces had reached the crash site.
News sources said Lieutenant General Muhammed Ali Ahmed el-Haddad and the senior military delegation accompanying him had traveled to Ankara for official meetings. Turkish authorities stated that a formal investigation into the cause of the accident is underway and that further details will be released after the inquiry is completed.
