A Turkish Air Force C-130 transport aircraft, flying from Azerbaijan to Turkey, has crashed near the border between Azerbaijan and Georgia. According to the Turkish Ministry of National Defense, 20 people, including crew members, were on board. Search and rescue operations are ongoing with the participation of Turkish and Georgian emergency services.
The Georgian Ministry of Internal Affairs reported that the aircraft went down in a mountainous area of the Sighnaghi municipality, approximately five kilometers from the Azerbaijani border. An investigation has been launched under the article concerning violations of air traffic safety rules. Preliminary information suggests that the plane disappeared from radar without sending a distress signal, which complicated the determination of its crash site.
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev expressed his deepest condolences to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the families of the victims, and the brotherly people of Turkey, emphasizing that Azerbaijan shares Turkey’s grief at this tragic moment.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan stated that Turkish authorities remain in constant contact with their Azerbaijani and Georgian counterparts and are coordinating the ongoing rescue efforts.
The crash of the C-130 represents a major tragedy for the Turkish Armed Forces. The aircraft, designed by the American company Lockheed Martin, is widely used for transporting personnel and military cargo, as well as for humanitarian missions. The governments of all three countries have expressed their determination to jointly investigate the causes of the disaster and to provide full support to the families of the victims.
