- Libya's public prosecution ordered arrest of two pilots accused of flying while drunk after their private jet crashed at Misrata airport.
- The aircraft veered off the runway during landing and caught fire; there were no casualties onboard.
- Prosecution said investigators found evidence the pilots had flown intoxicated and posed a real threat to airport safety.
- Identities were not officially released, though Al-Ahrar TV reported the captain was German and the copilot and flight attendant were Turkish.
- Photos showed the aircraft burned through except for the cockpit; prosecutors ordered pretrial detention and the investigation is ongoing.
Libya’s public prosecution said Wednesday it ordered the arrest of two pilots for allegedly flying a private jet while drunk after the aircraft crashed in Misrata airport without any casualties.
The public prosecution did not disclose their identity, but private TV channel Al-Ahrar had reported that the captain was a German national and the copilot Turkish.
The private jet reportedly operated by a Turkey-based company veered off the Misrata airport runway during landing on Monday, before catching fire.
A flight attendant — a woman also of Turkish nationality, according to Al-Ahrar TV — was the only other person on board.
The prosecution said investigators found “evidence that (the pilots) had flown the aircraft while drunk”, before ordering their pre-trial detention.
The pilots “posed a real threat” to the “airport, its users and the safety of the airspace the aircraft traversed before it crashed”, the prosecution added.
Photos circulated online had shown that, with the exception of the cockpit, the entire aircraft had caught on fire after the incident.
The prosecution said an investigation was ongoing.
