• A Turkish C-130 cargo plane has crashed near the Georgia-Azerbaijan border
• Search and rescue operations are ongoing
• An investigation into the cause of the crash will also take place

A Turkish C-130 military cargo plane crashed over the border between Azerbaijan and Georgia on 11 November 2025 for which a search and rescue operation is currently underway.

The crash, in which widespread reports suggest 20 people were killed, occurred near the state of Sighnaghi, approximately five kilometres from the Georgian border with Azerbaijan.

The cause of the incident is not immediately clear but a thorough investigation into the crash will take place, confirmed the president’s communications spokesperson, Burhanettin Duran. At the same time, the French government issued a release expressing their solidarity with Türkiye for the crash which they considered a “tragic accident”.

In the meantime, Turkish government officials are coordinating with the “relevant authorities,” including counterparts in Georgia and Azerbaijan.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan noted that the tactical airlifter was on route back to Türkiye from Azerbaijan. The leader stated: “God willing, we will emerge from this accident with minimal disruption.”

According to GlobalData intelligence, the Turkish Air Force operate six ‘B’ and 13 ‘E’ variants of the Lockheed Martin C-130 Hercules. The service first procured the aircraft in 1991-92, meaning the fleet has been in service for more than 30 years.

While none of the parties associated with the crash site have confirmed which C-130 iteration crashed, it has been widely reported that its was an E variant, an assertion supported by open source aircraft tracker intelligence.

Social media footage showed the front section of aircraft (including the wings) sprialling down, separated from the aft section.