ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkish air traffic controllers lost contact Tuesday with a private plane carrying Libya’s military chief and four others returning home after a visit to Turkey, Turkey’s interior minister said.
Minister Ali Yerlikaya said in a social media post that the Falcon 50 business jet took off from Esenboga Airport in the Turkish capital Ankara at 8:30 pm and lost contact with the aircraft 40 minutes later.
Jelikaya said the plane issued an emergency landing signal near the Khaimana region south of Ankara before all communications were cut off.
Surveillance video broadcast by local television showed the night sky over Hamana suddenly lit up by the explosion.
Libyan military chief Mohammed Ali Ahmed Haddad met with Turkish Defense Minister Yasar Gül and other officials in Ankara.
After the report, Ankara airport was closed and several flights were diverted to other locations, private NTV news channel reported.
