Turkey military plane crash in Georgia kills all 20 onboard a C-130 cargo aircraft returning from Azerbaijan, says Defence Minister Yasar Guler

Turkey military plane crash has claimed the lives of all 20 people onboard a C-130 Hercules aircraft that went down in eastern Georgia on its return from Azerbaijan, Ankara confirmed on Wednesday.

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The Turkish defence ministry said the military cargo plane had taken off from Ganja airport in western Azerbaijan on Tuesday afternoon but disappeared from radar shortly after crossing into Georgian airspace.

The aircraft crashed near Sighnaghi, around five kilometres from the Georgian–Azerbaijani border.

Defence Minister Yasar Guler expressed deep sorrow over what he called the loss of “our heroic comrades-in-arms”, saying all 20 personnel onboard — including the flight crew — had died.

He shared photographs of the fallen service members on his official X account, describing the event as a day of national mourning.

Eyewitness footage published by Azerbaijani media appeared to show the C-130 spinning horizontally, trailing debris before impact.

Georgian authorities said the plane entered their airspace without issuing a distress signal and that emergency services were first to alert air traffic control to the crash.

Officials have not yet determined the cause of the Turkey military plane crash, though weather conditions and mechanical failure are both under investigation.