Turkish military plane crashes in Georgia, killing all 20 onboard. Black box recovered as investigators probe cause of the incident
ISTANBUL: Turkish investigators have recovered the black box from a military cargo plane that crashed in Georgia, killing all 20 people onboard.
Defence Minister Yasar Guler confirmed the C-130 aircraft crashed on November 11 while returning to Turkey from Azerbaijan.
“Our heroic comrades-in-arms were martyred on 11 November 2025 due to the crash of our C-130 military cargo aircraft, which had taken off from Azerbaijan to return to Turkey,” Guler stated on social media platform X.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said investigators had located the flight recorder but warned against premature conclusions about the crash cause.
“Last night, our 46-person accident investigation team was deployed to the region. The black box of our aircraft has been found and investigations have begun,” Erdogan announced.
The plane took off from Ganja airport in western Azerbaijan on Tuesday afternoon before crashing shortly after crossing into eastern Georgia.
Search teams have recovered 19 bodies and continue looking for the final victim.
Dramatic footage published by Azerbaijani media appeared to show the plane spinning horizontally with debris as it fell.
Georgian air traffic control reported the aircraft disappeared from radar shortly after entering their airspace without transmitting a distress signal.
The crash occurred in Georgia’s Sighnaghi area, approximately five kilometres from the Azerbaijani border.
Azerbaijani Report news agency said those onboard included maintenance specialists for F-16 fighter jets that participated in Saturday’s Victory Day parade in Baku.
The agency confirmed the plane carried mechanical spare parts for F-16s but no explosives, ruling out the possibility of an explosion.
Erdogan extended his “deepest condolences” to the families of those killed while urging against political exploitation of the tragedy.
The C-130 Hercules military cargo plane is manufactured by US company Lockheed Martin. – AFP
