Falcon 50 (9H-DFS) Crash Claims Libya’s Army Chief: What We Know About the Ankara Incident

On 23 December 2025, Libya’s chief of staff, Lieutenant General Mohammed Ali Ahmed al-Haddad, was killed when the private Dassault Falcon 50 business jet he was aboard crashed shortly after departing Ankara’s Esenboğa Airport (ESB), Ankara en route to Mitiga International Airport (MJI), Tripoli. The crash also claimed the lives of four senior Libyan military officials and three crew members

Turkish authorities have recovered the flight’s cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder and launched a full investigation; early reports suggest a technical failure may have triggered the emergency landing request prior to the crash, and there has been an intensifying scrutiny of the aircraft accident amid regional political sensitivities and ongoing military cooperation discussions between Libya and Turkey.

Ankara Esenboğa Airport (ESB), Ankara — Key Facts

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Crash Overview and Sequence of Events

Approximately 40 minutes after takeoff, the Dassault falcon 50 reportedly experienced an electrical failure and requested an emergency landing back at ESB; radar contact was lost shortly thereafter, reported Reuters:

“Burhanettin Duran, the head of Turkish presidential communications office, said the plane notified air traffic control of an electrical fault and requested an emergency landing. The aircraft was redirected back to Esenboga where preparations for its landing began. The plane however, disappeared from the radar while descending for the emergency landing, Duran said.”

Search and rescue teams located the wreckage near Kesikkavak village in the Haymana district, south of Ankara, with no survivors. Abdul-Hamid Dbeibah, the Libyan Prime Minister and leader of the Government of National Unity based in Tripoli, said that the deaths were a “tragic accident”:

“It is with deep sadness and great sorrow that we learnt of the death of the Libyan army’s chief of general staff, Lieutenant General Mohammed al-Haddad.”

Here’s a timeline of how the events unfolded:

Timeline of the Aircraft Accident

The flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorders, which will be pivotal for determining the precise chain of events. Devlet Bahçeli, a key ally of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and leader of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), said “the crash occurred at a moment when Turkey and Libya were increasing dialogue and defending shared interests in coordination, calling the incident both deeply sad and “concerning” with regard to its timing“, and according to Turkish Minute:

“Turkish political commentary commonly read Bahçeli’s remarks as an insinuation that the event is not ordinary and that his emphasis on timing is the basis for the “hint” that many commentators have interpreted as pointing to sabotage without directly alleging it. Journalist Murat Yetkin, in his YouTube commentary, argued that the clustering of regional events around the crash date is why people immediately began asking who might benefit.”

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Aircraft involved: Dassault Falcon 50

The Dassault Falcon 50 is a long-range corporate/business jet first introduced in the late 1970s, powered by three engines and known for transcontinental range. The specific aircraft tail number 9H-DFS was leased and registered in Malta, with detailed ownership and maintenance history under joint Turkish-Libyan investigation.

The following is the Flight Timeline (UTC), as reported by Flight Radar 24:

Who was Mohammed al-Haddad and What Was his Mission?

Lieutenant General Mohammed Ali Ahmed al-Haddad served as Libya’s chief of general staff and was a central figure in attempts to unify Libya’s fragmented military institutions under the internationally recognised Government of National Unity (GNU). His delegation had been in Ankara to discuss military cooperation and strategic coordination with Turkish defence officials.

The words of Al Jazeera’s Malik Traina, who said that al-Haddad was trying to built military institutions in western Libya, was quoted in News24:

“You have powerful armed groups, militias controlling different parts of land. They hold a huge influence on the government. He refused to let these militias hold sway on the government,” Traina added, and was seen as “someone that people could rally behind and support to try to bring some kind of unity to Libya.”

Al-Haddad’s death is widely regarded as a significant blow to both military cohesion within Libya and the larger political process aimed at stabilising the country after years of division. The same publication also quoted various people following the crash :

Speaker / Source	Role / Affiliation	Quote	Context
Libya’s Government of National Unity	Official government body	“A three-day mourning period, during which flags will be flown at half-staff across all state institutions, and all official ceremonies and celebrations will be suspended.”	Official statement following the death of Lt Gen Muhammad Ali Ahmad Al-Haddad
Wolfgang Pusztai	Former Austrian defence attaché to Libya	“Very significant.”	Describing the importance of Al-Haddad’s death
Wolfgang Pusztai	Former Austrian defence attaché to Libya	“A major blow for Dbeibah.”	Political impact on Libyan Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah
Wolfgang Pusztai	Former Austrian defence attaché to Libya	“Al-Haddad hails from Misrata, an important merchant city … of Misrata to the government.”	Explaining Al-Haddad’s regional and political roots
Wolfgang Pusztai	Former Austrian defence attaché to Libya	“Misrata is the most important military power in western Libya, and this might really trigger some problems for Dbeibah, if this loyalty is broken in the future.”	Warning of potential instability
Al Jazeera’s Traina	Journalist / correspondent	“It’s extremely big shoes to fill. It is really going to be very difficult for authorities to find somebody as charismatic and strong who can unify the country like Mohammed al-Haddad.”	Commentary on the challenge of replacing Al-Haddad

Comparison with Similar Aviation Accidents

The following table highlights comparable incidents where high-ranking officials or military leaders were killed in aviation accidents, including cause categories and aircraft types:

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All in All

As Libya mourns and partners like Turkey intensify forensic efforts, the aviation community will watch closely for safety insights that could inform future corporate flight operations involving national and international dignitaries.

The incident came just one day after the Turkish parliament approved an extension of the mandate authorising the continued deployment of Turkish troops in Libya for an additional two-year period.

Ankara maintains strong political, economic, and military relations with the UN-recognised administration in Tripoli, which it has consistently backed through financial assistance and defence cooperation.

The following two points, highlighted by Al Jazeera, might be pertinent to the crash:

• Turkey first dispatched military personnel to Libya in 2020 to train and support forces aligned with the Tripoli government, subsequently formalising its involvement through a maritime boundary agreement.
• In 2022, the two sides further deepened cooperation by signing a preliminary framework agreement covering energy exploration activities.
• More recently, Turkey recalibrated its approach under its “One Libya” policy, intensifying diplomatic engagement with Libya’s eastern-based authorities alongside its ties with Tripoli.