Libyan prosecutors say two pilots flew a Cessna Citation Latitude while intoxicated before it crashed at Misrata International Airport (MRA) on September 14, 2026, prompting an order to hold both men in pretrial detention.
The aircraft’s Turkish operator, BKNJET, disputes reports that the pilots were arrested and says it has received no evidence supporting the alcohol allegation. The company said the pilots were being questioned.
“No verified result or document indicating any such finding regarding alcohol has been received by us,” the company said.
The jet, registered TC-AKF, veered off the runway during landing and was destroyed by fire. It had arrived from Istanbul with two pilots and a flight attendant aboard to collect passengers. All three crew members survived.
In a September 16 announcement carried by Libya’s state news agency, LANA, prosecutors said investigators questioned the crew 24 hours after the accident and confronted the pilots with evidence that they had operated the aircraft while intoxicated.
The announcement did not describe any evidence to support the allegation. Prosecutors also accused the pilots of disregarding aviation safety rules and endangering the crew, aircraft and people at the airport.
Investigators examined the wreckage, reviewed air traffic control and weather information, and took statements from technical personnel at the airport.
The aircraft’s cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder have since been recovered, according to a Libyan Civil Aviation Authority statement. The authority said the recorders would be sent to a specialist facility for decoding.
The accident investigation team also interviewed the crew and air traffic control personnel, listened to tower recordings and traced the jet’s path from touchdown on MRA’s Runway 15 to where it stopped.
The wreckage has been moved into an enclosed hangar for examination.