TBILISI, November 11 – A Turkish military cargo aircraft crashed in eastern Georgia on Tuesday morning, close to the border with Azerbaijan, according to officials in Tbilisi and Ankara.
Georgia’s Interior Ministry confirmed that the plane, a Turkish Air Force C-130 Hercules, went down roughly five kilometers inside Georgian territory in the Sighnaghi municipality. The aircraft had been flying from Azerbaijan to Turkey when it disappeared from radar.
Preliminary reports suggest the aircraft was operating a military transport flight between Ganja, Azerbaijan, and Turkey. Georgian authorities said the incident is being investigated for violation of air transport safety resulting in the loss of life. The ministry said more information will be released as it becomes available.
Georgia’s air traffic agency, Sakaeronavigatsia, said its search and rescue coordination center was alerted through Georgia’s emergency hotline, 112. The C-130 disappeared from radar shortly after entering Georgian airspace and did not issue a distress signal before vanishing. Search teams were immediately dispatched to locate the crash site and assist potential survivors, the agency said.
Turkey’s Defense Ministry confirmed the crash, stating that search and rescue operations were being carried out in coordination with Georgian and Azerbaijani authorities. No official casualty figures have been released.
Flight data from Flightradar24 shows the aircraft, identified by the callsign TUAF543, took off from Ganja International Airport at 10:19 UTC. After climbing to a cruising altitude of 24,000 feet, its last signal was recorded at 10:49 UTC as it flew westward across the Georgia-Azerbaijan border.
The C-130 Hercules is a long-serving four-engine military transport plane widely used by NATO members, including Turkey. It is designed to carry troops, vehicles, and supplies across short and medium distances and can also be used for humanitarian missions.
