Turkish C-130 Crashes in Georgia, Killing 20

A Turkish Air Force C-130 Hercules transport aircraft crashed Tuesday in Georgia's mountainous Kakheti region near the Azerbaijan border, killing all 20 personnel on board, according to officials from Turkey and Georgia.

The four-engine plane, manufactured by Lockheed Martin, departed from Ganja International Airport in Azerbaijan at 10:19 UTC and was en route to Incirlik Air Base in southern Turkey on a routine logistics mission. Eyewitnesses described the aircraft trailing thick smoke as it spiraled out of control before impacting the ground near Sighnaghi Municipality, about 80 kilometers east of Tbilisi. The crash site, in a remote area dotted with vineyards, saw debris scattered widely, with parts still smoldering into the evening.

Georgian emergency services, supported by rescuers from Azerbaijan, arrived at the scene by dusk and confirmed no survivors. Turkey's Defense Ministry announced the incident on social media, stating that search and rescue efforts were underway in coordination with Georgian and Azerbaijani authorities. "Our C-130 military cargo plane, which took off from Azerbaijan to return home, has crashed at the Georgia-Azerbaijan border," the ministry said in...