Black box found, investigation underway in Libya plane crash near Ankara
The black box and cockpit voice recorder from the private jet that crashed near Ankara, killing Libya’s army chief and several senior officials, were recovered early Wednesday, Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said.
Yerlikaya told journalists that the wreckage covers roughly 3 square kilometers (about 1.16 square miles), News.Az reports, citing Turkish media.
“As a result of work carried out at the scene by teams from the Transportation Safety Investigation Center of the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure, the aircraft’s voice recorder was recovered at 2:45 a.m. (2345 GMT Tuesday), and the black box was found at 3:20 a.m. local time,” he said. The process of examining and evaluating the devices has begun.
A total of 408 personnel, along with 103 ground vehicles and seven air vehicles, have been deployed to the crash site, Yerlikaya added.
A 22-member Libyan delegation, including five relatives of the victims, Defense Ministry representatives, and Interior Ministry officials, has arrived in Ankara.
“We are also very curious about [the cause of the crash], but this data will reveal the cause, and the authorities will share the findings with you,” he said. He offered condolences to the families of those killed and to the Libyan government, calling the incident a “tragic accident.”
The wreckage of the Falcon 50-type business jet, which had departed from Ankara’s Esenboga Airport en route to Tripoli, was located by gendarmerie teams about 2 kilometers (1.24 miles) south of Kesikkavak village in the Haymana district.
Following the crash, Libya’s Government of National Unity declared three days of national mourning.
Similar news
