Investigation after jet carrying Libyan officers crashes in Turkiye

An investigation into the crash of a private jet that killed Libya’s army chief Mohammed Ali Ahmed al-Haddad and seven other people was being investigated in Istanbul, Turkiye, by Turkish authorities and Libyan officials.

According to officials, the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office is focusing on technical evidence, flight recordings, crew work, and aircraft maintenance. BEA, France’s agency for civil aviation investigations, has announced its participation in the investigation.

General al-Haddad met with defense minister Yasar Guler and his Turkish counterpart Selcuk Bayraktaroglu on Tuesday for talks.

The French-made Dassault Falcon 50, which was headed back to Libya at 2:17 p.m. on Tuesday, reported an electrical problem 16 minutes later and requested an immediate return.

At 2:41 p.m. (17:41 GMT), the aircraft was descending toward the runway and losing radar contact.

According to officials, the emergency alarm and the collision were only two minutes apart.

The numerous factors investigated

General al-Haddad and his military companions’ bodies were examined early on Saturday, and they were returned to Libya after a ceremony in their honor at an airbase outside of Ankara.

The crash’s location, which is located close to Kesikkavak village in Haymana district, is close to Ankara, which is located about 70 kilometers (43 miles) south of the city. According to authorities, all wreckage has been secured and transported for analysis, including the cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder, or “black boxes.”

Specialists are examining radar data, airport security camera footage, and air traffic control recordings as part of the prosecutor-led investigation.

Authorities are reviewing the crew’s rest times, medical histories, and records of meals or medications taken before the flight in addition to requests for communication logs between the pilots and the control tower.

Any potential technical gaps are also being looked into with maintenance logs and documentation related to the aircraft’s most recent checks.

To rule out contamination or improper fuel use, local weather data from the time of the crash have been requested, and fuel samples have been taken from both the wreckage and the airport tanks.

According to investigators, the inquiry could include manufacturers and maintenance contractors if there is any proof that a structural failure or design flaw exists.

International regulations and reporting dates

Given the number of parties involved, Gursel Tokmakoglu, former head of the Turkish air force’s intelligence agency, said the crash should be treated as an international incident.

“A foreign country-registered aircraft was issued by the Libyan government. Another nation produced the aircraft. The pilots were from abroad. He claimed that the crash took place in Turkiye and that the passengers were Libyan.

This is undoubtedly a multinational incident, according to experts from insurance companies and international aviation organizations.

Turkish Transport Minister Abdulkadir Uraloglu had previously stated that black boxes could be sent to a different country for further analysis, which raises some questions about why Turkiye or Libyan analysis couldn’t be conducted.

Tokmakoglu claimed Turkiye had the option of sending the black boxes abroad for analysis or to conduct an internal investigation.

He said, “Transferring the recorders can help ensure greater transparency and a clearer understanding of what happened, especially in a case involving so many international stakeholders.”

Tokmakoglu noted that the crew reported an electrical malfunction and the aircraft reported receiving the 7700 emergency “squawk” code, which indicates an emergency that warrants immediate attention.

However, he continued, it would be premature to assume that the aircraft’s crash was caused by an electrical malfunction.

He compared this situation to being admitted to intensive care for heart failure and later dying from a lung infection, saying that “in aviation, an electrical failure can trigger other problems.”

According to Guntay Simsek, an expert in the aviation industry, there are no conclusive theories as to whether the crash was caused by an explosion, adding that the technical investigation is still being conducted.

Source: Aljazeera