Turkish C-130E likely crashed when life raft and cover dislodged

Wreckage is seen after the crash of a Turkish C-130E in the Sighnaghi area near the Georgia-Azerbaijan border on 11 November 2025. (AFP via Getty Images)

The Turkish Ministry of National Defence (MND) released its most technically detailed account yet of what brought down C-130E serial 68-1609 over Georgian territory on 11 November 2025, killing all 20 personnel on board.

The MND said on 9 April 2026 that a wing-stowed life raft tearing away from its cover assembly was the the probable cause of the crash. The C-130 Hercules carries life rafts in four compartments built into the centre wing section. There are two on each side. Doors on the upper wing surface provide access to the compartments. Each raft assembly is inflated by a dedicated CO₂ cylinder, which forms an integral part of the life raft installation. These life raft compartments are located outside the pressurised fuselage zone.

The MND added that a cover assembly may have detached from the upper wing along with a CO2 cylinder. Investigators said they believe the assembly struck the left aft fuselage before hitting the vertical stabiliser. This may have caused structural damage to the fuselage, vertical stabiliser, and horizontal stabiliser. MSB said this potentially led to the loss of the aircraft. Laboratory analysis remains ongoing.

According to the MND, the activities of the Technical Investigation Board, coordinated by the Turkish Air Force Command, were conducted first at the wreckage site in Georgia and subsequently at the facilities of the 2nd Air Maintenance Factory Directorate in Kayseri, where the wreckage was transported.