Libya announced that Britain has agreed to analyze the flight recorder from a plane crash in Turkey on December 23 that killed the head of Libya’s army and members of his delegation.
Gen. Mohammed al-Haddad and four aides died after a visit to Ankara, with Turkish authorities attributing the crash of the Falcon 50 jet to an electrical failure shortly after takeoff.
Three crew members were also killed, including two French nationals.
Libya coordinated directly with Britain on the analysis, Transport Minister Mohamed al-Chahoubi told a press conference in Tripoli. The aircraft’s flight recorder was later recovered from farmland near the crash site.
According to Chahoubi, Libya initially requested that Germany conduct the analysis, but Berlin required France’s involvement.
He noted that the Chicago Convention requires the country analyzing a flight recorder to be neutral, arguing that France could not participate because it manufactured the aircraft and since two crew members were French.
Libya and Turkey therefore agreed on Britain as an acceptable alternative.
Foreign Minister Taher al-Baour earlier announced that Libya and Turkey had jointly submitted a request to Britain for technical and legal assistance after talks with the British ambassador in Tripoli.
Britain approved the request in coordination with Libya’s transport ministry and Turkish authorities, Chahoubi said.
He cautioned that the time needed to extract data from the recorder remains unclear and depends on its condition.
The findings will be released once available, he added, urging the public to ignore rumors and false information.
Haddad served as chief of staff of the internationally recognized Government of National Unity, which controls parts of western Libya.
The country has remained divided since a 2011 uprising backed by NATO overthrew longtime leader Muammar Gaddafi.
Eastern Libya is dominated by forces loyal to rival military commander Khalifa Haftar.
© Agence France-Presse