ANKARA 

The wreckage of a Tripoli-bound private jet carrying the Libyan army chief that lost contact shortly after departing Ankara has been found south of the Turkish capital, Türkiye’s Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said Tuesday.

🚨 Contact lost with Tripoli-bound jet carrying Libyan army chief near Ankara: Turkish interior minister

✈︎ Aircraft carrying Libya’s chief of general staff, 4 others vanishes near Ankara after emergency landing signal, says interior minister https://t.co/rNv8JOpyfr pic.twitter.com/CjSk7rxTsG

— Anadolu English (@anadoluagency) December 23, 2025

The wreckage of Falcon 50-type business jet, which took off from Ankara’s Esenboga Airport en route to Tripoli, was found by gendarmerie teams about 2 kilometers south of Kesikkavak village in the Haymana district, Yerlikaya said.

Türkiye’s Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunc said that prosecutors have launched an investigation into the crash.

Earlier, Yerlikaya announced that contact was lost with the jet, bearing tail number 9H-DFJ, at around 8.52 p.m. local time (1752 GMT), shortly after it departed at 8.10 p.m. (1710 GMT).

He said the aircraft had transmitted an emergency landing notification near Haymana but that no further communication could be established afterward.

According to the official, five passengers were on board, including Libya’s Chief of General Staff Gen. Mohamed Ali Ahmed Al-Haddad.

✈️ Plane wreckage is spotted in the Haymana area after contact is lost with a Libya-bound Falcon 50 jet

📍 The aircraft loses communication shortly after departing Türkiye’s Ankara Esenboga Airport and sends an emergency landing signal near Haymana, Interior Minister Ali… pic.twitter.com/aobY1uZq2r

— Anadolu English (@anadoluagency) December 23, 2025

Authorities will provide updates as developments unfold, Yerlikaya added.

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