ISLAMABAD : Monitoring Desk – Libya and Turkiye agreed to send the black box and cockpit voice recorder of the Falcon 50 jet that crashed in Ankara, killing Libyan army leaders, to Germany to ensure accurate analysis.
Earlier on Wednesday 24 Dec, the Turkish Interior Minister announced that the flight data recorder/black box and the cockpit voice recorder of the jet had been found, noting during a press conference that the relevant authorities had begun examining and analyzing the two devices.
Later, Turkish Minister of Transport Abdulkadir Uraloğlu said: “An analysis of the cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder will be conducted to determine the cause of the crash in a neutral country.”
The Libyan Judicial Association says Libya has a full legal right to participate in the investigation into the military plane crash that killed the country’s army chief of staff in Turkey.
It cited international aviation rules, including the Chicago Convention, which allow the state that owns and operates the aircraft to take part in the technical inquiry.
The association called for a national judicial committee to follow the probe in Turkey, gather evidence, and publish findings transparently, saying the case is a test of Libya’s ability to defend its sovereign rights.
Turkey has pledged to continue investigations into the crash of a plane carrying Libya’s Chief of General Staff and several senior officers, and to present a full report once inquiries are complete, the Turkish ambassador to Libya has said.
Güven Begeç made the remarks during a meeting in Tripoli with Presidential Council head Mohamed Menfi on Thursday.
The ambassador conveyed the condolences of Turkey’s leadership to Menfi and the Libyan people over the “tragic incident,” which claimed the lives of the army’s chief of staff, the chief of land forces and a number of their aides.
He expressed deep sorrow and solidarity with the families of the victims, wishing them patience and comfort.
On 25 Dec, a committee formed by the Minister of Interior in the Government of National Unity begun its duties to investigate the plane crash that was carrying the Chief of the General Staff, Lieutenant General Mohammed Al-Haddad, and his accompanying delegation, in coordination and cooperation with the Turkish authorities.
The committee is headed by the Chief of the Criminal Investigation Department, Major General Mahmoud Al-Ajili. A specialized team is also continuing the necessary procedures to transfer the bodies of the deceased back to the homeland, collect DNA samples, and match them with samples from their relatives in accordance with approved standards, according to a statement published by the department on its Facebook page on Wednesday.
The ministry added that the committee’s tasks also include continuing search and investigation operations for the aircraft wreckage, as part of completing the investigation process and uncovering the circumstances and causes of the accident.
In addition to Al-Haddad, those on board the aircraft included the Commander of the Ground Forces affiliated with the Government of National Unity, Major General Staff Al-Fitouri Gharibeel; the Director of Military Manufacturing, Brigadier Mahmoud Jumaa Al-Qatwi; the adviser to the Chief of Staff of the Libyan Army, Mohammed Al-Assawi; and photographer Mohammed Omar Ahmed Al-Mahjoub.
Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said on Wednesday that investigations are ongoing to determine the causes of the crash of the private aircraft carrying Libyan Chief of the General Staff, Lieutenant General Mohammed Al-Haddad, and the accompanying delegation while returning from an official visit to Turkey to Libya.
The bodies of Libyan army leaders killed in a plane crash in Ankara are expected to arrive home on Saturday 27 Dec. A military funeral will be held at Tripoli International Airport before sending the five bodies to their hometowns for burial.
