An opposition lawmaker on Thursday questioned whether negligence may have played a role in the November crash of a Turkish military C-130 transport plane in Georgia that killed 20 people, after Turkey’s defense ministry said a sudden separation of the aircraft’s tail cone cut off the black box recording while no malfunction had been detected beforehand.
In a weekly press briefing on Thursday, the ministry said flight recorder data showed no problem in the crew’s communications or the aircraft’s systems until the moment of the crash. It said the recording then stopped because the tail cone separated from the fuselage and severed the recorder’s power and data cables.
The ministry also said examinations found the engines and propellers had been operating normally until the crash. It said there was no sign the aircraft had been damaged by a detached propeller.
The ministry also dismissed media reports about a nitrogen cylinder, saying two Halon fire extinguishers found in the wreckage were intact and showed no sign of impact.
It said investigators are examining whether a carbon dioxide cylinder attached near the wing may have come loose, struck the left rear section of the aircraft and caused structural damage that led to the crash.
📄Nihayet bir açıklama yapıldı.
📍149 gün sonra!
✈️Her şey normal devam ederken uçağın kuyruk konisi gövdeden ayrılmış.
✈️Kablolar koptuğu için de kara kutu kayıt yapmamış!
✈️Peki uçağın kuyruk bölümü neden koptu, bakım yapılalı henüz 1 ay olmuştu. Bakım yapan personel… https://t.co/EneiQ17C6X pic.twitter.com/3KLxtkF2Mf— Turhan Çömez (@ComezTurhan) April 9, 2026
Turhan Çömez, a deputy group leader from the nationalist opposition İYİ (Good) Party, posted on X that the government had waited 149 days to explain that the tail section broke off and the black box stopped recording because the cables were cut. He said that explanation left the central question unanswered because it still did not explain why the tail section separated in the first place.
Çömez also asked whether maintenance personnel had been investigated, noting that the aircraft had reportedly undergone maintenance about a month earlier. He further suggested that an error in loading may have allowed cargo or equipment to break loose and strike the rear of the plane.
The aircraft crashed on November 11, 2025, after departing Azerbaijan for Turkey and went down near the Georgia Azerbaijan border. All 20 people on board were killed.
The laboratory work on the wreckage is continuing and a final report will be shared with the public once the investigation is complete, according to the ministry.