The Turkish Minister of Transport and Infrastructure, Abdulkadir Uraloğlu, has disclosed critical findings from the black box analysis of the aircraft that crashed in Ankara while transporting a Libyan military delegation. Speaking on the progress of the investigation, the minister revealed that the Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) captured pilots’ reports of a catastrophic loss of power shortly after departure. Just two minutes after the December 23 takeoff, the second generator failed, followed almost instantly by the third, plunging the three-engine aircraft into a severe electrical crisis that crippled its automated systems.
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According to Uraloğlu, the flight crew initially issued a “PAN-PAN” urgency signal and attempted to return to Esenboğa Airport. However, as electrical systems failed, air traffic controllers were forced to attempt manual guidance. Although the pilots eventually activated an emergency distress signal in the final stages of the flight, the aircraft lost altitude and crashed in the Haymana district 37 minutes after takeoff. Due to the extent of the damage to the flight recorders, the units were analyzed in the United Kingdom with Libyan consent to ensure technical accuracy.
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Parallel to the investigation, the minister provided updates on earthquake recovery efforts following the 2023 disaster. He confirmed that 80 billion Turkish liras have been invested in infrastructure within the affected zones, including the construction of 293 kilometres of new roads. Furthermore, Hatay Airport has its operational capacity restored, with major repairs to its runways now allowing for takeoff and landing at maximum load, effectively resolving the transport challenges previously faced by the region.