04.02.2026 17:07
Transport and Infrastructure Minister Abdulkadir Uraloğlu announced that the examination of the black box from the plane that crashed in Ankara while transporting the Libyan military delegation revealed that all information on the cockpit voice recorder (CVR) had been deciphered, and that the pilots had conversations indicating that "two generators had failed."
Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Abdulkadir Uraloğlu evaluated the Ministry's investments in the earthquake zone and the investigation efforts regarding the plane that crashed in Ankara while transporting the Libyan military delegation.
PILOTS MADE AN EMERGENCY CALL Providing information about the investigations of the black box of the plane that crashed in Ankara while transporting the Libyan military delegation, Uraloğlu stated that the plane was in constant communication with the tower both before and after the emergency call and mentioned that it experienced an electrical failure. Uraloğlu expressed that after a while, the pilots communicated their request to return to the airport and made an emergency call known as "PAN-PAN, PAN-PAN, PAN-PAN," which is one level below the highest emergency call used in aviation. He reported that after this call, the tower began working on directing the plane, and due to the complete failure of the systems on the plane, manual guidance efforts started.
Libyan Chief of General Staff General Muhammad Ali Ahmed Al Haddad "BLACK BOXES ARE HEAVILY DAMAGED" Uraloğlu recalled that all flights and departures at Esenboğa Airport were halted after they began their return journey, stating, "Of course, at the final stage, the pilot did not make the highest level emergency call, 'MAYDAY,' but activated a button that is meant for this purpose. The tower essentially sees this call in a way. However, before descending to a sufficient altitude and approaching the airport, it crashed in Haymana. There are two devices on planes. One records data, and the other records voice. These are the devices we call black boxes, and both are heavily damaged. I have seen their photos as well," he said.
PILOTS REPORT THE GENERATOR HAS FAILED Uraloğlu noted that only four countries in the world, namely Russia, the UK, France, and the USA, can analyze the heavily damaged devices, and he mentioned that due to France being the manufacturing country, it was decided to examine them in the UK through consultations with the Libyan side.
Uraloğlu stated that the Ministry's accident investigation teams followed the process until the operations conducted in the UK were completed, saying:
"We saw the following in the voice recording device: the plane took off at 20:17 on December 23 (2025). It is a three-engine plane. Just in the 2nd minute, the pilots report that the second generator has failed, and about 13-14 seconds later, they say the third generator has failed, but there is no information regarding the first generator. When the conversations continued a bit more, they mentioned that all generators had failed and then the system came back. In the conversation with the tower, they also requested to return to the airport. From the time the plane took off at 20:17, there is a total of 37 minutes until it crashes. Until about the 27-28th minute, there was continuous communication with the plane, and it was being directed to the airport."
"IF THERE HAD BEEN A REQUEST TO RETURN AFTER THE GENERATOR FAILURE, THERE WOULD HAVE BEEN NO PROBLEM" Uraloğlu stated that from the 27th minute onwards, healthy communication with the plane could not be established, explaining that it was relatively visible on the radars due to losing altitude, and then it began to disappear, ultimately crashing at the end of the 37th minute.
Uraloğlu noted that the investigation into the incident is being conducted by the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, stating:
"All these investigations are being carried out under the knowledge of them and in accordance with the instructions given to our friends. Of course, we can make this comment: if there had been a request to return before the plane got too far from the airport after the failure of the first or second generator, it seems there would have been no problem. In other words, the events in the process until the systems completely failed have been roughly resolved from this voice recording device, but the final decision will be made based on the judicial investigation and expert reports. The cause here will be clarified and finalized. The examination of the CVR has been completed, and all information has been obtained. So there is no different information there; the damage has been addressed. However, the device we call the data recording device (FDR) is very old and has suffered serious damage. No information has been obtained from it so far. Our friends are working on it. They are looking to see if any additional information can be obtained, but in fact, the information from the voice recording device provides us with sufficient information regarding the cause of the plane's crash or the process. If any additional information comes out from there, we will also submit it to the judicial authorities."
WHAT HAPPENED? A private jet carrying Libyan Chief of General Staff General Muhammad Ali Ahmed Al Haddad, four accompanying individuals, and three crew members crashed near Haymana district of Ankara on December 23, 2025, resulting in the deaths of Al Haddad, the accompanying military delegation, and the crew.
The Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor's Office assigned four public prosecutors under the coordination of a deputy chief public prosecutor to investigate the incident.
As part of the investigation, a security perimeter was established in the area where the plane crashed, and the plane wreckage and black box were secured.