ANKARA, Dec 24 (Reuters) - A private jet that crashed overnight, killing Libya’s army chief of staff and seven others on board, had reported an electrical fault and requested an emergency landing shortly before contact was lost, a Turkish official said on Wednesday.
The Dassault Falcon 50 jet, which took off from Ankara Esenboga Airport at 1717 GMT on Tuesday for Tripoli, informed air traffic control at 1733 GMT of an emergency caused by an electrical malfunction, said communications directorate head Burhanettin Duran.
Search teams found the black box of the plane early on Wednesday, Turkey's interior minister said.
Libya's internationally recognised government said the dead included army chief of staff, Mohammed Ali Ahmed Al-Haddad, and four members of his entourage. Libyan Prime Minister Abdulhamid Dbeibah called it a "great loss for the nation."
Three crew members were also killed, Turkish officials said.
JET VANISHED FROM RADAR WHILE DESCENDING FOR LANDING
Air traffic control had redirected the aircraft back toward Esenboga Airport and emergency measures were initiated, but the jet disappeared from radar at 1736 GMT while descending for landing and contact was lost, Duran said.
"The aircraft's voice recorder was found at 0245 and the flight data recorder at 0320. Examination and analysis of these devices have begun," Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya told reporters at the crash site near Ankara’s Haymana district.
Yerlikaya earlier said the aircraft had requested an emergency landing while flying over Haymana, adding that its wreckage was found near Kesikkavak village.
Duran said investigations into the cause of the crash were continuing by all relevant authorities.
Libyan officials have said the jet was leased and registered in Malta, and that its ownership and technical history would be examined as part of the investigation.
(Reporting by Ece Toksabay and Daren Butler; Editing by Thomas Derpinghaus and Bernadette Baum)
