A Malta-registered plane that crashed in Turkey on Tuesday, killing eight people, reported an electrical fault minutes before losing contact with air traffic control, Turkish officials have said.
Harmony Jets flight HMJ185 was carrying high-ranking Libyan army officials back to Tripoli following official meetings with Turkish government officials.
The French-made Falcon 50 jet was leased from Harmony Jets, a Malta-registered company that has provided private jet chartering services since 2017.
Publicly available data reveals Harmony Jets has done significant business in Libya over the years, was involved in evacuating people from the country last May and also fell foul of United Nations experts assessing sanctions breaches related to Libya.
Flight logs from the fatal Tuesday evening crash reveal the Falcon 50 plane ran into trouble roughly 15 minutes after take-off and then crashed.
Among the victims were the chief of staff of Libya’s army, General Muhammad Ali Ahmad al-Haddad and the head of Libya’s ground forces, Brigadier General Mahmoud Al-Qatawi.
Other victims included the director of Libya’s Military Manufacturing Authority, an advisor to the chief of staff and a military photographer, as well as three flight crew members named as captain Denis Pourtau, first officer Antony Tangarpriganin and cabin crew member Maria Pappa.
A Turkish government spokesperson said the pilot reported an electrical malfunction and requested permission for an emergency landing shortly before going offline.
The plane’s black box was found on Wednesday morning and Turkish authorities have said they are investigating.
Transport Malta, which is responsible for the plane operator’s licence, told Times of Malta it is also investigating.
“The investigation into the accident will be a thorough process and factual updates will be provided as they become verified,” it said in a statement.
Harmony Jets said in a brief statement that it is “working closely with the authorities and respecting the investigative process.” It did not respond to further questions.
The final flight path of the Falcon flight, which crashed shortly after take-off from Ankara, Turkey.Harmony Jets, its offices and fleet
The company was incorporated in Malta in 2017 and lists offices in Mrieħel and St Julian’s. It offers private jet chartering and leasing services, with its website emphasising that it operates with “radical transparency”.
Its website lists a fleet of five Falcon aircraft, including the Falcon 50 that crashed on Tuesday.
Harmony Jets is owned by Frenchman Pierre Olivier Edouard through a holding company, HPO Holdings Ltd, which is also registered in Malta.
It operates using an Air Operator Certificate (AOC) issued by Transport Malta’s Civil Aviation Directorate.
Audited accounts filed by Harmony Jets and HPO Holdings show that Harmony generated net profits of over €1.5 million in 2023 but kept none of that cash, instead paying it all out in dividends to its parent company. In 2022, Harmony Jets made an even bigger profit – €3 million – but declared an even bigger dividend of €4.7 million.
Harmony ended 2023 with a total net asset position of just €1,300 – the exact value of its share capital.
The Harmony Jets fleet of aircraft, including the Falcon 50 plane that crashed on Tuesday night.The company’s fleet of planes are also held in various Malta-incorporated Special Purpose Vehicles owned by its parent firm, HPO Holdings – a standard practice within the aviation sector.
An industry source told Times of Malta that Harmony Jets has a reputation for being able to arrange flights to Libya at short notice, and at lower prices than the competition.
“It usually takes a few days to arrange flights to Libya – it is not a straightforward destination and it can be tricky to find crew and suitable insurance coverage. But Harmony seem to be especially good at it,” the source said.
Significant business in Libya
Publicly available flight records of the company’s planes confirm that the company does a lot of business in the North African country, with several flights to or from Libyan airports in Tripoli, Al Zintan, Benghazi and Misrata in the past months.
The Falcon 50 plane (Reg: 9H-DFS) that crashed in Ankara had landed in the Turkish capital from Libya’s capital Tripoli on Monday evening and was heading back there when it crashed. The plane was last in Malta on Monday afternoon.
Harmony’s business in Libya has seen it supply services to clients on both sides of the country’s messy political conflict.
The Libyan officials who died in Tuesday’s crash formed part of the Tripoli-based Government of National Unity. Apart from al-Haddad, they included advisor Mohammed Al-Assawi, Major General Al-Fitouri Ghraibil, Major General Mohammed Jumaa and their escort, Mohammed Al-Mahjoub.
The delegation had met with Turkey’s national defence minister earlier in the day. Turkey is one of the most important backers of the Tripoli-based government and has provided significant military aid to help it fend off forces led by General Khalifa Haftar, the military might behind a rival Libyan government that controls much of the country’s east.
Trouble with the UN
A United Nations report published in December 2024 concluded that Harmony Jets had flown Irish military trainers and equipment to Libya in 2023 to train Haftar-controlled troops.
The UN panel of experts said the company declined to provide details about the passengers or equipment it transported, citing privacy laws, and concluded that it was in breach of a UN Security Council resolution concerning Libyan sanctions, S/RES/2701 (2023).
Harmony Jets told the UN experts it did not know passengers worked for the Irish firm, Irish Training Solutions (ITS) and denied carrying any weapons or dangerous goods to Libya.
An excerpt from the UN panel of experts report citing Harmony.Months later, an investigation by the Irish Times found that some of the ITS-trained Haftar troops later ended up in Russia, where they received sniper training and expressed fear they would end up deployed to the war in Ukraine.
Haftar is backed by Russia’s Vladimir Putin.
An ITS spokesperson told the Irish Times that the company has “no involvement in Libya” and did not know about troop deployments.