Private jet departing Istanbul catches fire in Libya; Misrata Airport suspends flights

Flights at Misrata International Airport in Libya were suspended after a private jet arriving from Istanbul ran off the runway and caught fire during landing Monday, while the three-member flight crew escaped without injuries.

The Cessna Citation Latitude, registered as TC-AKF, took off from Istanbul Ataturk Airport at 5:45 a.m. and flew to Misrata to pick up passengers.

The jet ran off the runway after touching down and caught fire. Airport firefighters responded to the blaze, while ARFF teams rescued the two pilots and one cabin crew member from the aircraft. The crew was reported to be in good condition, and all three escaped without injury.

The Cessna Citation Latitude is a midsize business jet designed by Cessna, part of U.S.-based Textron, with a capacity of 9 passengers.

Turkish media reported that Turkish businessman Hamdi Akin, who leads the Turkish conglomerate Akfen Holding and ranks among the country’s richest people on Forbes’ Billionaires List, owns the aircraft.

Details to follow…