TBILISI, November 11 – A Turkish Air Force C-130 cargo plane crashed in eastern Georgia on Tuesday afternoon. Here is what is known about the crash so far.
The Hercules military cargo plane went down near the border with Azerbaijan, setting off a multinational search-and-rescue effort and an immediate criminal investigation, according to a sequence of official updates released through the evening.
The aircraft was a Turkish military C-130 flying from Azerbaijan toward Turkey. It disappeared from radar shortly after entering Georgian airspace and later crashed in Sighnaghi municipality, near the Azerbaijan border.
Georgia opened a criminal probe under the article covering air transport safety violations causing death. Authorities have not released casualty figures independently.
APA, citing Turkey’s Defense Ministry, reported 20 people were on board. Georgia has not publicly confirmed the number.
Search-and-rescue is ongoing with Georgian leadership on site; Turkey is dispatching AFAD responders and a drone, and Azerbaijan has offered help.
The events as they unfolded
Based on reporting by Interpressnews, here are today’s main developments. Georgia’s Interior Ministry was first to confirm the incident at 16:42 local time, saying the aircraft went down in Sighnaghi municipality about five kilometers from the border between the two countries while en route from Azerbaijan to Turkey. The ministry said an investigation had been launched under Criminal Code Article 275, part 4, which covers violations of air transport safety rules resulting in loss of life.
By 17:47, Azerbaijani media reported that Prime Minister Ali Asadov phoned his Georgian counterpart Irakli Kobakhidze, offering emergency assistance, including deployment of Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Emergency Situations teams. Georgian officials thanked Baku and noted their own agencies were already at the scene, while technical ministries in both countries remained in contact.
At 18:47, Azerbaijan’s APA news agency, citing Turkey’s Defense Ministry, said there were 20 people on board. Interpressnews carried the APA report while reiterating the crash location and the Georgia-to-Turkey flight direction previously described by Tbilisi.
Shortly after 19:00, Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili expressed condolences and solidarity with Turkey, noting that his thoughts were with the families of the crew members who died. Around the same time, Interior Minister Geka Geladze arrived at the crash area with senior police officials, where the ministry said rescue and investigative actions were “active” on site.
Georgia’s air navigation service described the emergency response it launched after receiving a 112 alert: an aviation search-and-rescue team was dispatched under international protocols; the Turkish C-130 vanished from Georgian radar minutes after crossing the border and did not transmit a distress signal; Ganja Airport in Azerbaijan and Turkish authorities were notified.
At 21:10, APA’s Turkish bureau reported Ankara was sending a specialized AFAD search-and-rescue group to Georgia, noting the crash occurred in mountainous terrain, and that a Bayraktar Akıncı drone would support the mission.
By 22:03, Prime Minister Kobakhidze said he had spoken by phone with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, offering “full solidarity” and condolences on the “tragic crash” of the Turkish Air Force transport in Georgia.
