A Falcon 50 aircraft carrying Libya’s Chief of Staff under Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah, Mohamed Al-Haddad, crashed on Tuesday evening in Ankara, according to Turkish and Libyan officials.
Turkiye’s Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said contact was lost with the plane, which was carrying Al-Haddad and four other passengers. The aircraft was traveling from Ankara to Tripoli and had requested an emergency landing before communication was cut off.
Reuters reported that flight-tracking data showed air traffic was diverted away from Ankara Airport following the incident. Libyan media said Prime Minister Dbeibah formed a crisis cell to coordinate with Turkish authorities, while Turkish outlets reported that the fate of those on board remains unknown.
Earlier on Tuesday, Al-Haddad held talks in Ankara with Turkish Defense Minister Yasar Guler and Chief of Staff Selcuk Bayraktaroglu on military cooperation between the two countries.
