Detached Wings From Doomed Turkish C-130 Seen Spiraling Into The Ground
Videos show a Turkish Air Force C-130E Hercules cargo plane falling in multiple pieces from the sky earlier today. The center fuselage with the wings still attached is notably seen spiraling straight down toward the ground. The aircraft, which tragically had 20 individuals onboard, came down in Georgia as it was flying from Azerbaijan to Turkey.
The C-130E went down sometime after 2:49 PM local time (10:49 PM UTC), according to data from Flightradar24. The aircraft, which had been using the callsign TUAF543, had taken off from Ganja International Airport in Azerbaijan some 30 minutes beforehand.
“After departure, it turned and positioned itself on a northeasterly track, passing the Mingechevir Reservoir beneath. While passing 15,000 feet, it again turned onto a northwesterly heading before turning west, passing the Georgian border around 10:37 UTC,” per Flightradar24. “It was in a continuous ascent until reaching its cruising altitude of 24,000 feet at 10:41 UTC.”
As noted, videos are circulating online that show the C-130E having broken apart at some point in midair. In addition to the center fuselage and wings, other large sections of the aircraft are seen falling down toward the ground. A smoke-like effect is seen emanating from the wingtips as they fall, which could be fuel and/or vapor. It then hits the ground, causing a large plume of thick black smoke to erupt.
Georgian officials say the C-130 came down approximately three miles (five kilometers) from the country’s eastern border with Azerbaijan, according to RFE/RL. Authorities have been working to get to the crash site, and the crash is under investigation. Pictures and videos said to show the wreckage are now beginning to emerge online.
“Our aircraft that crashed had 20 personnel on board, including the flight crew,” the Turkish Defense Ministry had said earlier in a statement, according to RFE/RL. “Search and rescue operations are ongoing.”
“God willing, we will overcome this crash with minimum hardships,” Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan also said during a speech in Ankara after receiving word about the crash, according to Reuters. “May God rest the soul of our martyrs, and let us be with them through our prayers.”
Ilham Aliyev, President of Azerbaijan, a major Turkish ally, has also offered his condolences.
As of the start of 2025, the Turkish Air Force had a mixed fleet of 18 C-130B and E variants, according to FlightGlobal. These are both models that would have first rolled off Lockheed’s production line decades ago. For some years now, Turkey has been in the process of bringing all of its Hercules aircraft up to a modernized standard through the ERCIYES modernization program. The designations C-130BM and EM are often used to describe planes that have received the upgrades, which include improved avionics and navigation systems, as well as new cockpit displays, and more. The Turkish Hercules that went down today in Georgia had received the upgrade package, according to Scramble. Turkey also acquired this particular example second-hand from Saudi Arabia.
Earlier this year, Turkish authorities also confirmed they had purchased 12 ex-British C-130J models. The Royal Air Force officially retired the last of its C-130Js in 2023.
While there is much to learn about the crash today, the imagery of the aircraft going down and from the crash site certainly shows a devastating total loss.
We will continue to update this story with any new information that may emerge in the next 24 hours about the mishap.
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