A Falcon 50 business jet carrying Libya’s Chief of General Staff, General Muhammed Ali Ahmed Al-Haddad, crashed near Ankara on Tuesday evening after reporting a technical emergency shortly after departure. The aircraft, tail number 9H-DFJ, took off from Ankara Esenboga Airport at 20:10 local time bound for Tripoli but lost contact with air traffic control at 20:52 after issuing an emergency landing notification near the Haymana district.
Turkish authorities closed Ankara’s airspace and launched search and rescue operations. Wreckage was later located about two kilometres south of Kesikkavak village in the Haymana area, roughly 75 kilometres south of the capital.
Libyan Prime Minister Abdulhamid Aldabaiba confirmed that all five people on board were killed. In addition to General Al-Haddad, the victims included Major General Al-Faituri Ghraibil, Brigadier Mahmoud Al-Qatiwi, Mohamed Al-Asawi Diab, and photographer Mohamed Omar Ahmed Mahjoub. Aldabaiba described the loss as a major blow to Libya’s military institution.
The crash occurred just hours after Al-Haddad concluded an official visit to Ankara, where he met Turkish Defence Minister Ya?ar Güler as part of ongoing military cooperation between Türkiye and Libya. The cause of the accident remains under investigation, following reports of a technical malfunction before the loss of contact.
? #LATEST — Video shows the moment Falcon 50 business jet carrying Libyan Chief of General Staff Gen. Muhammed Ali Ahmed Al-Haddad crashed near Haymana, Ankara pic.twitter.com/D9KWOo5qsl
— Türkiye Today (@turkiyetodaycom) December 23, 2025