French pilots and Greek flight attendant among dead in Turkey plane crash

A private aircraft carrying Libya’s Chief of the General Staff, Lieutenant General Mohamed Al-Haddad, crashed in Turkey on Tuesday evening, killing all members of the foreign flight crew on board, according to multiple media reports.

Speaking to Libyan Express from Ankara, correspondent Mohamed Ibrahim said the aircraft was piloted by a French national, assisted by a co-pilot of the same nationality. The cabin crew member on board was a flight attendant holding Greek and Cypriot citizenship.

The crash resulted in the deaths of all three crew members.

Greek media outlet Greek City Times later identified the flight attendant as Maria Papa, 42.

In the same context, Al-Ahrar TV’s correspondent reported that the bodies of the two French pilots and the Greek flight attendant were expected to be transferred out of Turkey later on Tuesday.

The aircraft had been transporting a high-ranking Libyan military delegation, including Chief of the General Staff Lieutenant General Mohamed Al-Haddad, Chief of Staff of the Ground Forces Major General Vittorio Grebiel, Head of the Military Manufacturing Authority Mahmoud Qetouai, General Staff adviser Mohamed Al-Essawi, and the official photographer of the General Staff Mohamed Mahjoub.

The circumstances surrounding the crash remain under investigation by the Turkish authorities.