Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya confirmed on Wednesday that search and rescue teams have recovered both the cockpit voice recorder and the flight data recorder (black box) from the wreckage of the Falcon 50 aircraft that crashed in the Haymana district near Ankara.
The aircraft, which was transporting General Mohammed al-Haddad, the Chief of General Staff of the Libyan Armed Forces, and four high-ranking aides, crashed shortly after takeoff on Tuesday. All eight people on board, including three crew members, are confirmed deceased.
Search teams have recovered the cockpit, voice and flight data recorders at the site of a plane crash in #Turkey that killed #Libya‘s army chief Mohammed Ali Ahmed al-Haddad and other senior officials.
Here’s what we know about the accident ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/COZedCYVWf
— FRANCE 24 English (@France24_en) December 24, 2025
Status of the Investigation
The Ankara Prosecutor’s Office has formally launched an investigation into the incident. Early reports from Turkish officials indicate that the pilot requested an emergency landing due to a catastrophic electrical failure less than 15 minutes after departing from the Turkish capital.
To ensure impartiality and technical accuracy:
- Neutral Analysis: Transport Minister Abdulkadir Uraloglu announced that the black box data will be analyzed in a neutral third-party country.
- Transparency: The findings of the investigation will be shared globally with “full transparency” once the evaluation process is complete.
- Expert Opinion: Technical experts have noted that while electrical failures are rare as sole causes for crashes, the investigation will look into how multiple triggering factors and meteorological conditions may have converged.
Diplomatic and Humanitarian Response
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has extended his deepest condolences to Libyan Prime Minister Abdulhamid Dbeibah. At the crash site, over 400 personnel from AFAD, the police, and health services remain active, utilizing real-time drone imagery to manage the three-square-kilometer debris field.
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A 22-member Libyan delegation, including military officials and relatives of the deceased, has arrived in Ankara to coordinate the repatriation of the bodies.
General al-Haddad, who had served as the army’s chief of staff since 2020, was widely respected across Libya’s divided political landscape. His death is viewed as a profound loss for the country’s efforts toward military unification. Prime Minister Dbeibah expressed “deep sadness and great sorrow” for the loss of a leader many hoped would play a pivotal role in bridging the divide between eastern and western Libya.
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