Turkish investigators have launched an urgent probe into the cause of a catastrophic plane crash that claimed the lives of Libya’s Chief of the General Staff and a Greek flight attendant, Maria Pappa. Communication logs released today show a harrowing seven-minute sequence between the first alarm and the Falcon jet’s total disappearance from radar.
Turkish Transport Minister Abdulkadir Uraloglu detailed a rapid descent into chaos that began when the pilot declared a “PAN-PAN” alert—signalling an urgent problem just below a full-scale MAYDAY emergency.
The fatal timeline
The official logs trace the aircraft’s final moments as the crew battled a “general electrical failure”:
20:31: Pilot declares «PAN-PAN» and reports a total electrical breakdown, requesting a course back to Ankara.
20:32: Air traffic control provides a descent level and flight path for an emergency return to Esenboğa Airport.
20:33: The situation escalates. The pilot enters emergency code «7700»—the highest level of distress—as the jet flickers on radar screens.
20:34: Controllers hand the aircraft over to Approach Control for an immediate landing attempt.
20:35: The pilot makes a final, desperate «PAN-PAN» radio call.
20:36: Communications break down; the pilot’s voice becomes unintelligible and flight data begins to vanish from radar displays.
20:38: The Falcon disappears completely.
Thirty seconds from disaster
The tragedy narrowly missed becoming a ground-level massacre. According to Hürriyet, experts believe that if the jet had stayed airborne for just another 30 seconds, it would have slammed into the centre of Kesikavak village.
Instead, the aircraft struck the ground two kilometres away. Villagers in Kesikavak described the moment of impact as feeling like an earthquake. «We heard an incredible explosion. The windows of our houses shook… the sky lit up from the blast,» witnesses told reporters.
Rescue teams found debris scattered across a three-kilometre radius through fields and forest. Residents were the first to reach the site, discovering the mangled wreckage of the jet.
