Damaged black box from Ankara crash to be analyzed in UK, Türkiye says

ANKARA

The black box and cockpit voice recorders from a plane crash that killed a Libyan military delegation in Ankara were damaged, Türkiye on Jan. 7 said, confirming that their analysis will be conducted in the United Kingdom.

“Both the black box flight data recorder and the cockpit voice recorder are damaged. Only four countries in the world are capable of handling this,” Turkish Transport and Infrastructure Minister Abdulkadir Uraloğlu told reporters in the capital Ankara.

The investigation will take place in the U.K. with representatives from Türkiye, Libya and France, the aircraft’s manufacturing country, accompanying the process, Uraloğlu said.

Libyan General Mohammed al-Haddad and four aides died on Dec. 23, 2025, following a visit to Ankara, with Turkish officials stating that an electrical failure caused the Falcon 50 to crash shortly after takeoff. Three crew members also lost their lives.

Türkiye and Libya earlier agreed that, for the sake of impartiality, the examination should be conducted in a neutral third country.

The Turkish minister stated that a team from Ankara would transport the black box and voice recorder to the U.K. within days.

“They will closely monitor the process with all parties involved, but they are likely to uncover more information over the coming month,” he said.

Libya has been politically divided since the NATO-backed revolt that toppled and killed longtime leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.

Haddad was chief of staff for the internationally recognized Government of National Unity (GNU), which controls western Libya, while the east is under the military leadership of Khalifa Haftar.

Mohamed al-Chahoubi, Libya’s transport minister, earlier said that that a request to analyze the aircraft’s flight recorders had been submitted to Germany, which in turn requested France’s assistance.

“However, the Chicago Convention stipulates that the country analyzing the black box must be neutral,” he explained.

“Since France is the manufacturer of the aircraft and the crew were French, it is not qualified to participate. The United Kingdom, however, was accepted by both Libya and Türkiye,” he said.