A private jet carrying Libya's army chief of staff, Mohammed Ali Ahmed al-Haddad, and four other people has crashed shortly after taking off from Turkey's
capital, Ankara, according to reports. Footage shared on social media showed search-and-rescue teams reaching the crash site and combing through debris believed to be from the aircraft. Turkey's Interior Minister, Ali Yerlikaya, said on X that the Falcon 50 business jet took off at 20:10 local time on Tuesday and that radio contact was lost at 20:52.
Search-and-rescue teams have reportedly reached the crash site of the private jet carrying Libya’s Chief of General Staff, General Muhammad Ali Ahmad al-Haddad, near the Turkish capital of Ankara. pic.twitter.com/6atSweMLzb
— OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) December 23, 2025
He said the aircraft, which was flying from Ankara to Tripoli, had requested an emergency landing while over Ankara's Haymana district, but contact could not be re-established afterwards.
Earlier this week, Turkey's defence ministry announced that General al-Haddad was visiting Ankara, where he met his Turkish counterpart and other senior military commanders.
BREAKING: First footage of Libyan Army Chief of General Staff Muhammed Ali Al-Haddad’s plane crashing in Haymana, Türkiye after taking off from Anakara’s Esenboğa Airport pic.twitter.com/m8kk1r8w1s
— Rapid Report (@RapidReport2025) December 23, 2025
Flight-tracking data showed other flights being diverted away from Ankara's Esenboğa Airport following the incident.
Officials have not formally confirmed the cause of the incident, but footage aired by Turkish broadcasters appeared to show a flash of light in the area where the aircraft was reported to have lost contact.
There was no immediate comment from Libyan officials.
