Preliminary versions of the Turkish military aircraft crash in Georgia have been announced

On November 11, a C-130 military transport aircraft belonging to the Turkish Air Force crashed in Georgia, disappearing from radar 27 minutes after takeoff from Ganja airport. All 20 military personnel on board, including all crew members, died in the crash.

Immediately after the tragedy, President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and government members expressed condolences to the leadership of the brotherly country, declaring readiness to provide all necessary assistance. In Georgia, a criminal case has been opened regarding the crash, and the scene has been secured. Turkish officials are currently conducting an investigation.

Despite timely and detailed official explanations, various unreliable versions are spreading on social media. Although the investigation into the plane crash continues, according to preliminary versions, the disaster could have occurred due to one of two reasons.

First - the aircraft had been in operation for a long time, with the last major overhaul conducted in 2020, so the fuselage could have been damaged due to corrosion. A similar case with this type of aircraft was previously recorded in the United States. It is known that corrosion can cause holes in the aircraft fuselage. Note that in 2015, a C-130 aircraft crashed shortly after takeoff from an airport in one of Afghanistan's cities.

In total, about 20 accidents involving these aircraft have been registered for various reasons until now. Two of them occurred in Turkey in 1968 and 1982. In 1968, a C-130 crashed near Manisa during landing.

The second version - improper cargo securing. During the flight, the cargo could have shifted, damaging the internal structures of the aircraft and compromising its integrity.

In any case, there is clearly no external interference. If, for example, the fuselage of the Azerbaijan Airlines (AZAL) aircraft that crashed in Kazakhstan last year had traces of damaging elements, no such damage was recorded on the C-130.

It should be noted that the aircraft was at Ganja airport for only about two hours. During this time, there were no cases of outside interference or approaches to the aircraft. On board were F-16 fighter maintenance specialists who had participated in the military parade. All of them went through the necessary security procedures before boarding. Additionally, the plane was carrying mechanical spare parts for F-16s as cargo, and there were no explosives on board.

Currently, the investigation and search operations continue. Since the plane crashed in flat terrain, finding the black boxes should not be difficult. For this reason, it can be said with confidence that all details will be clarified in the near future. The investigation is being conducted jointly by Turkey and Georgia, and Azerbaijan has been providing comprehensive support to the brotherly country from the first minutes.