Libyan prosecutors announced that two pilots were ordered into pretrial detention after allegedly operating a Cessna Citation Latitude while intoxicated prior to a crash at Misrata International Airport (MRA) on September 14, 2026. Authorities stated that the investigative findings prompted the detention order as legal proceedings into the aviation occurrence continue.
The aircraft's Turkish operator, BKNJET, disputed reports that the flight crew members had been arrested and stated that it has received no verified documentation or evidence supporting the allegations of alcohol consumption. The company confirmed that both pilots were undergoing official questioning by local authorities regarding the circumstances surrounding the flight.
Registered as TC-AKF, the business jet had flown into Misrata from Istanbul with two pilots and a flight attendant on board to collect passengers. During the landing roll, the aircraft veered off the runway and was subsequently destroyed by fire; however, all three crew members survived the incident without loss of life.
In an announcement carried by Libya's state news agency, LANA, prosecutors stated that investigators questioned the crew 24 hours after the accident and confronted the pilots with evidence of operating while intoxicated. Prosecutors accused the flight crew of disregarding aviation safety rules and endangering people aboard the aircraft and on the ground.
According to a statement from the Libyan Civil Aviation Authority, investigators have recovered both the cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder, which will be sent to a specialist facility for decoding. The accident investigation team has interviewed crew members and air traffic control personnel, reviewed tower audio, traced the jet's path on Runway 15, and moved the wreckage to an enclosed hangar.
