A Turkish C-130 military cargo plane crashed in Georgia, killing all 20 personnel on board after a flight from Azerbaijan.
ISTANBUL: All 20 people aboard a Turkish military cargo plane that crashed in Georgia have been killed.
The C-130 Hercules crashed on its return flight to Turkey after departing from Ganja airport in western Azerbaijan.
Turkey’s defence ministry confirmed the aircraft went down shortly after crossing the border into eastern Georgia.
Defence Minister Yasar Guler said the personnel were “martyred” in the 11 November 2025 incident.
He posted a statement on his X account alongside photographs of the 20 victims, who included the flight crew.
The cause of the accident remains unknown, with no distress signal transmitted before the crash.
Dramatic eyewitness footage published by Azerbaijani media showed the plane spinning horizontally with debris as it fell.
Georgia’s interior ministry confirmed the crash site was in the Sighnaghi area, approximately five kilometres from the Azerbaijani border.
Georgian air traffic control reported the plane disappeared from radar shortly after entering its airspace.
The C-130 Hercules military cargo aircraft is manufactured by US company Lockheed Martin. – AFP
