Republic of Türkiye Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Abdulkadir Uraloğlu made a detailed statement regarding the private aircraft that took off from Ankara Esenboğa Airport bound for Libya’s Tripoli Mitiga Airport and crashed near the Haymana district.
According to the information provided by Minister Uraloğlu, the Falcon 50 type private aircraft with tail number 9H-DFS, registered with the Malta Civil Aviation Authority, departed from Esenboğa Airport on 23 December 2025 at 20:17 in accordance with standard procedures. Following take-off, the aircraft was handed over successively to the Approach Control and Area Control units, and was permitted to climb gradually to the requested altitudes.
PAN-PAN and MAYDAY Process
While climbing to 34,000 feet at 20:25, the pilot made a PAN-PAN emergency call at 20:31 when the aircraft was at approximately 32,000 feet. The pilot reported a general electrical failure and requested radar vectors to return to Ankara.
At 20:32, air traffic control issued descent and heading instructions for a return to Esenboğa. At 20:33, the aircraft activated the 7700 emergency code. From this stage onwards, losses began to occur in the aircraft’s altitude data on radar screens.
Communication Completely Lost
It was stated that from 20:36 onwards, serious disruptions occurred in pilot–controller radio communications and the pilot’s voice became difficult to hear. As of 20:38, air traffic controllers completely lost the aircraft on radar. When no response was received to calls, attempts were made to establish contact on different frequencies for approximately 5 minutes, but without success.
Subsequently, the search and rescue process was initiated. All arrivals and departures at Esenboğa Airport were temporarily suspended, and the highest level of precautions was taken against the possibility of an emergency landing.
Wreckage Found in Haymana
As a result of determinations made by the Air Force Air Defence Reporting Centre, it was confirmed that the aircraft crashed near Kesikkavak Village in Ankara’s Haymana district. Search and rescue operations were conducted simultaneously by air and ground.
Black Box and Voice Recorder Found
Minister Uraloğlu announced that, as a result of the work carried out by teams from the Transportation Safety Investigation Centre Directorate dispatched to the scene, the following devices belonging to the aircraft were found in the wreckage area:
- Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR)
- Flight Data Recorder (FDR)
Stating that preliminary report preparations had begun, Uraloğlu emphasised that after the initial technical examination, the CVR and FDR devices would be subjected to detailed analysis in a neutral country, and that the findings obtained would be shared with the public and international authorities with full transparency.
Minister Uraloğlu concluded his statement with the following words:
“In this tragic accident, we pray for mercy for those who lost their lives and extend our condolences to the people and the state of our friend and brother country, Libya.”
