The Turkish Interior Minister, Ali Yerlikaya, has announced the recovery of the bodies of all victims from the crash of the Libyan aircraft carrying the Chief of the General Staff, Lieutenant General Mohammed Al-Haddad, and his delegation. Speaking at a press conference from the crash site near Ankara, the minister confirmed that both the black box and the cockpit voice recorder were located at 3.20 am. Specialist teams have begun analysing the data to determine the circumstances of the tragedy.
All eight people on board the aircraft perished in the accident. The victims have been identified as Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Mohammed Al-Haddad, Land Forces Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Al-Fitouri Gribel, Director of the Military Manufacturing Authority Brigadier Mahmoud Al-Qatiwi, Special Advisor Mohammed Al-Asawi Diab, and media office photographer Mohammed Omar Mahjoub, alongside the flight crew. The remains have been transferred to the Forensic Medicine Institute for formal identification and legal procedures.
Yerlikaya stated that a comprehensive and detailed investigation is underway to clarify the cause of the crash, noting that a Libyan team of 29 specialists is participating in the technical and field inquiries in cooperation with Turkish authorities. The minister pledged that the findings would be shared with the public transparently as soon as confirmed data becomes available.
Meanwhile, the Libyan Embassy in Turkey confirmed the arrival of a government delegation from Tripoli to monitor the situation on the ground. An agreement has been reached with Turkish authorities to establish a direct point of contact to coordinate efforts, expedite the repatriation of the victims’ bodies to Libya, and oversee the investigation into the disaster, which occurred as the officials were returning from a formal mission.
