A state funeral was held in the capital of Turkey following the arrival of the remains of the 20 Turkish servicemen killed in the C-130 crash in Georgia, whose bodies underwent forensic examinations before being transferred to Ankara early on Friday.
The incident occurred on 11 November in the Georgian region of Kakheti, in a mountainous area near the municipality of Signagi and about five kilometres from the border between Georgia and Azerbaijan. The C-130, which had taken off from Azerbaijan en route to Türkiye, crashed shortly after entering Georgian airspace. None of the 20 people on board survived.
The cause of the crash is still under investigation. The flight data and cockpit recording obtained after the discovery of the plane’s black boxes have already been sent to Ankara for analysis. According to the Turkish Ministry of Defence, the plane had been carrying spare parts for six F-16 fighters to Azerbaijan as well as technical personnel involved in Azerbaijan’s Victory Day celebrations. On its return journey it was carrying about six tonnes of supplies – mainly spare parts – but no ammunition or explosives.
Initial investigations suggest that the tail of the aircraft was detached before impact and that there is no evidence of external interference with the fuselage, according to Turkish media. Some images suggest that the plane may have disintegrated in mid-air before exploding on impact with the ground, although the authorities have not confirmed this.
Hypotheses of sabotage, anti-aircraft fire or other external factors have so far no evidence to support them, while the possibilities of mechanical failure or human error continue to be studied. The Ministry of Defence reported that the C-130 had been procured from Saudi Arabia in 2012, entered service in 2014 after modernisation and underwent its last maintenance between 11 September and 12 October 2025. For the time being, all flights with this model have been ordered to be suspended as of 12 November.
Messages of condolence from many countries
Messages of condolence have multiplied inside and outside Turkey. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Georgian Foreign Minister Maka Botchorishvili expressed their solidarity with Türkiye, as did the governments of Italy, Romania, Kosovo, Iran, Qatar, Egypt and Kuwait. Other nations – such as Japan, France, Russia, the Netherlands, Greece, Germany and Ukraine– also expressed their condolences through their embassies in Ankara.
After the accident, the bodies of the 20 dead were taken to the Ankara Institute of Forensic Medicine, where identification work continued throughout the night. Once the procedures were completed, the coffins – covered with the Turkish flag – were taken in a military convoy to the Mürted Air Base, where the official ceremony was held this morning in the presence of high-ranking civilian and military officials, as well as the relatives of the deceased, as reported by numerous Turkish media.
The ceremony in the Turkish capital was attended by Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmuş, Defence Minister Yaşar Güler, Family and Social Services Minister Mahinur Özdemir Göktaş, Chief of General Staff Selçuk Bayraktaroğlu, Navy Commander Admiral Ercüment Tatlıoğlu, Ankara Governor Vasip Şahin and other senior civilian and military officials.
The Turkish authorities have informed that three of the servicemen killed in the C-130 crash in Georgia will be buried in Ankara, while the other 17 will be sent to their home cities – including Istanbul, Konya, Sakarya, Balıkesir, Niğde and Eskişehir – to be buried with military honours.
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Edited and reviewed by:
Pablo Gómez is a specialist in Turkey and has been editor-in-chief of Hispanatolia since 2011. He has been analysing current affairs and geopolitics in Turkey and the surrounding region since 2006.
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