Signal lost with jet believed to be carrying Libyan army chief over Ankara, media says

ANKARA: Radio contact was lost with a private jet believed to be carrying Libya’s army chief of staff, Mohammed Ali Ahmed Al-Haddad, over the Turkish capital Ankara, broadcaster NTV reported on Tuesday, as flight tracking data showed flights being diverted away from Ankara’s Esenboga airport.

Turkey’s defence ministry had announced the Libyan chief of staff’s visit to Ankara earlier this week, saying he had met his Turkish counterpart and other military commanders.

Turkey said on Tuesday it lost contact with a Falcon 50-type business jet with five passengers onboard including Libya’s chief of staff after it took off from the capital Ankara.

“Contact was lost at 20:52 local time (1752 GMT) with a Falcon 50-type business jet, tail number 9H-DFJ, departing from Ankara’s Esenboga airport bound for Tripoli at 20:10 local time,” Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said in a statement posted on X.

Bu akşam saat 20.10’da Ankara Esenboğa Havalimanı’ndan Tripoli’ye gitmek üzere havalanan, kuyruk numarası 9H-DFJ olan Falcon 50 tipi iş jetiyle saat 20.52 itibarıyla irtibat kesilmiştir.

Söz konusu uçaktan Haymana civarında acil iniş bildirimi alınmış; ancak sonrasında uçakla…

— Ali Yerlikaya (@AliYerlikaya) December 23, 2025

Five passengers were onboard including the Libyan chief of general staff, General Mohammed Ali Ahmed al- Haddad, he added.

He said the flight had made a request for an emergency landing while over the Haymana district of Ankara, but no contact was established after.

“Authorities are monitoring the situation,” he added.

Several Turkish media broadcast images showing the sky lit up by an explosion not far from the supposed location where the aircraft sent a signal.

Turkey has close ties with the UN-backed government in Tripoli, to which it provides economic and military support.