No explosives on Turkish military plane that crashed in Georgia, reports say
Turkish military plane in Georgia
Azerbaijani outlet APA, citing an informed source, reports that no explosives or explosive devices were found on the Turkish military plane that crashed in Georgia, and that there were no signs of external impact on the aircraft’s fuselage.
On 11 November, a Turkish military plane crashed in the Sighnaghi municipality, about five kilometres from Georgia’s state border. It was later confirmed that the aircraft had been flying from Azerbaijan to Turkey.
Georgia’s Interior Ministry has launched an investigation under Article 275, Part 4 of the Criminal Code, which concerns violations of flight safety or aircraft operation rules resulting in loss of life.
According to the outlet, those on board were providing technical support for Turkish F-16 fighter jets and had taken part in the military parade in Baku on 8 November.
“Before boarding, they went through all the required airport security procedures and checks, which were recorded by the airport’s CCTV cameras,” the report said.
APA reports that the crashed aircraft had been in service for a long time and was last repaired in 2020.
According to the outlet, initial inspections found no signs of external impact on the fuselage. By comparison, after the crash of an Azerbaijani Embraer-190 on 25 December last year, the first inspection revealed numerous holes in the fuselage caused by external factors — which became the basis for the version that the plane had been shot down.
“Therefore, the absence of any signs of external impact on the C-130’s fuselage rules out the possibility that it was shot down. Even if there had been an explosive device on board and it detonated, there would clearly be traces of the explosion on the aircraft’s fuselage,” the source said.
According to APA, preliminary findings suggest two possible causes. The first is that, as the aircraft had been in operation for a long time, corrosion may have formed on its body, which could have caused the plane to fail under high air pressure. The second version is that the cargo carried by military transport planes must be properly secured; failure to do so can cause the load to shift due to turbulence or other factors, displacing the centre of gravity and leading to a crash.
“All this indicates that some of the conspiracy theories circulating on social media are unfounded. In fact, there is no basis for them, as the aircraft’s black box will shed light on the causes of the crash,” the outlet wrote.
