There were seven people on board the plane that crashed in Ankara, including the Chief of the General Staff of the Libyan Armed Forces, Muhammad Ali al-Haddad. This was reported by Burhanettin Duran, head of the Communications Directorate of the Turkish Presidential Administration.
According to Abdelhamid Dbeibeh, head of the Libyan Government of National Unity, Muhammad al-Haddad and his team died as a result of the incident when the plane, which took off from Ankara, soon disappeared from radar. Turkish Justice Minister Yılmaz Tunç confirmed that the Ankara Public Prosecutor's Office has begun an investigation into the incident.
“On the evening of December 23, 2025, a private plane carrying Lieutenant General Muhammad Ali Ahmed Al-Haddad and three crew members took off from Esenboğa Airport at 20:17 (local time coincides with Moscow time). At 20:33, the crew reported an emergency related to an electrical malfunction and requested an emergency landing,” Duran added in his message on social media platform X.
The plane was redirected by air traffic control back to Esenboğa Airport, where necessary measures were taken. However, at 20:36, during the descent for the emergency landing, contact with the plane was lost, and it disappeared from radar screens.
“As a result of the search operations initiated by the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the wreckage of the plane, which apparently crashed, was found. All relevant services continue to carry out the necessary actions,” reported a representative of the Turkish Presidential Administration.
