Twenty Turkish Airforce personnel died when a military plane crushed on the Georgian side of the Azerbaijan - Georgia border on Tuesday (11 November).
The C130 Hercules military transport aircraft that crashed yesterday had been in service for over half a century. The aircraft was manufactured in 1968 and initially served in the Saudi Arabian Air Force. In 2010, it was purchased by the Turkish Armed Forces and assigned to the 12th Air Base in Kayseri, where it belonged to the 222nd "Rhinoceros" Squadron, according to Turkish media.
The C130 took off from Ganja and was heading to Merzifon, transporting service members that had participated in Azerbaijan's Victory Day celebrations. Half an hour after takeoff, the aircraft lost altitude and broke apart in mid-air over a mountainous area on the Georgian border.
Lockheed C130 Hercules have been in service with Turkey since the 1960s and are considered among the most reliable in their class. However, some of these aircraft are 50–60 years old. In October, the Turkish Ministry of Defense announced plans to replace them with new C130J Super Hercules models, with deliveries expected to begin in the coming years.
All aircraft fragments have already been collected for technical examination. The cause of the crash has not yet been officially determined.
A Turkish expert and retired military officer Coşkun Başbuğ noted on CNN Türk, a technical malfunction "should be ruled out" as the cause of the crash. "Various possibilities should be considered, but the first thing to consider is that the C-130 is a time-tested military transport aircraft, the last known incident involving which occurred in 1982."
"A technical malfunction should be ruled out as the cause of the crash. The same applies to weather conditions, as the relevant authorities would have reported bad weather. The remaining theories include a mid-air collision, sabotage, or an attack," he emphasized.
Former Turkish Armed Forces Logistics Commander and retired Army General Erdoğan Karakuş stated in an interview with Turkish television that although the C-130 aircraft are old, they have undergone a complete modernization in Turkey, and their technical condition is thoroughly inspected before each flight. The Turkish Air Force is expected to operate the C-130 aircraft until 2040.
The Turkish Ministry of Defense has released a list of all the victims. Among them are pilot Gökhan Korkmaz and Air Force officers Serdar Uslu, Nihat Ilgen, Cüneyt Candemir, Ümit İnce, Burat Özkan, Emrah Kuran, Hamdi Armagan Kaplan, Akin Karakuş, İlker Aykut, Ramazan Yağız, Emre Altıok, Burak İbbiği, Berkay Karaca, Ahmet Yaşar Kuyucu, Cem Dolapcı, and Emre Sayın. Also among the dead are Aircraft Maintenance Senior Lieutenant Emre Mercan, Technical Staff Sergeant Nuri Özcan, and Aircraft Maintenance Senior Sergeant İlhan Ongan.
All of them served in the Turkish Air Force.
source: commonspace.eu with agencies
photo: Scene of the crash of C130 Turkish Airforce plane
