The Turkish Ministry of National Defense has answered all questions regarding the C-130 military cargo aircraft that crashed on the Azerbaijan-Georgia border.
Modern.az reports that a number of questions have been clarified in the statement of the Ministry of National Defense:
- On November 11, our C-130E transport aircraft, tail number 68-1609, belonging to the 12th Air Transport Main Base Command of the Air Force Command, took off from Kayseri at 09:02 to transport personnel and supplies to Ganja. It landed safely in Ganja at 11:06.
- To transport the 10-person technical maintenance crew and various aircraft technical equipment of our F-16 aircraft flying in Azerbaijan within the scope of Victory Day celebrations, the aircraft departed again at 13:15 with a total crew of 20 people to return to the 5th Main Jet Base Command (Merzifon).
- After taking off, the last radio contact was established with the Tbilisi Air Traffic Control Center at 13:50. After this time, radio and radar contact with the aircraft was lost. Subsequent communications from the Tbilisi Air Traffic Control Center remained unanswered.
- At 14:34, it was reported that our aircraft crashed for reasons currently unknown, south of Tbilisi, near the Azerbaijan-Georgia border.
- Upon learning of the incident, search and rescue operations were immediately initiated in coordination with Azerbaijani and Georgian authorities, and at the same time, an unmanned aerial vehicle was dispatched to the region. Georgian search and rescue teams discovered the wreckage of the aircraft at 15:02, and the area was secured at 17:00 for our accident investigation team to conduct its investigation.
- Our Minister held meetings with the Georgian Minister of Defense, the Azerbaijani Minister of Defense, and the Chief of the General Staff of Azerbaijan regarding the search and rescue operations.
- As a result of the investigation, it was determined that 20 of our heroic comrades on board the aircraft were martyred. The remains of our fallen comrades have been found and are planned to be returned to our country today.
- After the remains of the martyrs are returned to our country, they will be sent to their burial places.
- The cause of the incident will be clarified after a detailed investigation by the accident investigation team. Our efforts to obtain a result as soon as possible are ongoing.
- We thank the Georgian and Azerbaijani authorities for their swift response and mobilization of all resources during the search and rescue operations for the wreckage.
- Our aircraft carried personnel and aircraft maintenance equipment. There was no ammunition on board.
- It is currently too early to comment on this matter (the cause of the accident -ed.). The cause of the incident will be clarified after the ongoing accident investigation.
- The aircraft in question was purchased from Saudi Arabia on January 21, 2012, and added to the inventory in 2014 after maintenance. As of 2022, it was modernized and put back into service.
- Since that date, it has been in service with regular technical inspections. However, contrary to claims, this is not an aircraft decommissioned by the user country. C-130 aircraft continue to be used by Saudi Arabia.
- There are no old aircraft, there are unmaintained aircraft. The maintenance of these aircraft is regularly carried out by our country. C-130 aircraft are currently in active use in over 70 countries.
- The aircraft underwent Erciyes Avionics modernization, and the scheduled maintenance of the fuselage, engine, and propeller was completed on time.
- The last maintenance was carried out between September 11 and October 12, 2025.
