What caused the Turkish C-130 plane crash? Mystery surrounds disaster that killed 20 troops
‘Catastrophic event’ occurred before Turkish cargo plane crash
- A Turkish military C-130 cargo plane crashed in Georgia on Tuesday, killing all 20 people on board in the country's deadliest military incident for half a decade.
- The aircraft, which had just departed Azerbaijan for Turkey, was seen breaking apart mid-air, with experts suggesting a “catastrophic event” occurred very rapidly.
- Turkey has since grounded its entire fleet of C-130 planes for inspections, weeks after announcing a deal to procure 12 C-130J aircraft from Britain.
- The crashed C-130 Hercules was a 57-year-old aircraft, bought in 2012 and modernised in 2022, with its black box now undergoing analysis in Ankara.
- Aviation experts indicate the immediate freefall and lack of distress calls point to a sudden, severe incident, though the exact cause, including potential mid-air explosion or mechanical failure, remains unclear.