A Turkish Air Force C-130 military transport plane crashed near the Georgia–Azerbaijan border on November 11, 2025, with 20 personnel on board. The Turkish Ministry of National Defense confirmed the incident after the aircraft departed from Ganja Airport in Azerbaijan en route to Turkey.
“A C-130 military cargo plane departing from Azerbaijan to Turkey crashed on the Georgia–Azerbaijan border,”
stated the Turkish Ministry of National Defense. The ministry added that search and rescue operations were launched in coordination with Azerbaijani and Georgian authorities.
According to Georgian officials, the C-130 disappeared from radar just minutes after entering Georgian airspace, without sending any distress signal. The aircraft was identified as a Lockheed C-130E Hercules, possibly with the tail code #TUAF543.
Videos posted on social media reportedly show the plane breaking apart in mid-air before impact. The fuselage appears to have disintegrated, with the front section detaching and the wing structure spinning toward the ground before exploding. The tail section was not visible in the footage.
Author’s summary: Twenty Turkish Air Force personnel are missing after their C-130 cargo plane crashed near the Georgia-Azerbaijan border shortly after takeoff from Ganja, Azerbaijan.