Germany asked to help in Libyan army chief plane crash probe

BERLIN - Germany has received a request from Turkey to assist in examining the black box recorders from a plane crash that killed the head of the Libyan armed forces, investigators have confirmed.

In a statement sent to AFP, the Federal Bureau of Aircraft Accident Investigation (BFU) said it had "received a request asking whether the BFU could assist in reading the recorders".

General Mohammed al-Haddad and four of his aides died last week after a visit to Ankara, with Turkish officials saying an electrical failure caused their plane to crash shortly after takeoff, also killing three crew members.

The plane's black box was found on farmland near the crash site.

Turkish authorities had earlier said the investigation into the cause of the crash would be conducted by a "neutral country", possibly Germany.

The BFU said in a statement issued late Monday it had contacted the Turkish Air Accident Investigation Authority and requested photographs of the recorders in order to check whether it can read them.

"Once this has been confirmed, the recorders will be brought to the BFU in Germany and read out," the agency said.

"The data obtained will then be sent back to the lead investigating authority in Turkey, where the exclusive analysis of the data will take place."

The Libyan foreign ministry on Tuesday also said the United Kingdom had been asked to assist in investigations into the crash.

Libya has been divided since a NATO-backed revolt toppled and killed longtime leader Moamer Kadhafi in 2011.

Haddad had been the chief of staff for Libya's internationally recognized Government of National Unity (GNU), which controls the west of the country, since August 2020.

The east is run by military strongman Khalifa Haftar.