Turkey’s defence ministry confirmed on Wednesday that all 20 personnel on board a Turkish military cargo plane were killed after it crashed near the Georgia–Azerbaijan border on Tuesday. The incident marks one of the deadliest military aviation disasters for Turkey in recent years.
The Lockheed C-130 Hercules aircraft, operated by the Turkish Air Force, was en route from Ganja, Azerbaijan, to Turkey when it went down in Georgia’s Kakheti region, close to the border with Azerbaijan. The ministry said rescue and investigation teams were dispatched immediately to the crash site, where no survivors were found.
Earlier footage from the scene showed twisted metal debris scattered across a grassy knoll, with parts of the fuselage still ablaze and thick black smoke billowing into the air. Initial videos circulating on social media appeared to show the plane corkscrewing toward the ground before bursting into flames, though Reuters noted it could not independently verify the footage.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan interrupted a speech in Ankara to extend condolences, referring to the victims as “our martyrs”, a term commonly used for Turkish military personnel who die in service. The President’s office and the defence ministry have not disclosed the cause of the crash.
Reports from local media suggested that, alongside Turkish personnel, Azerbaijani servicemen might also have been on board the US-made aircraft, though official confirmation on their presence remains pending.
The U.S. Ambassador to Turkey, Tom Barrack, expressed sorrow on X, writing that he was “deeply saddened by today’s tragic crash of a Turkish Armed Forces aircraft” and that the United States “stands in solidarity with our Turkish allies.”
Following a phone conversation between President Erdogan and Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev, the Azerbaijani leader said they had discussed “the tragic loss of servicemen” in the crash.
Investigations are underway to determine the exact cause of the incident. The crash occurred in a strategically sensitive area frequently used for logistics and defence cooperation between Turkey and Azerbaijan.
