SHOTLIST:

ANKARA, TÜRKİYE (NOV. 12, 2025) (SATELLITE-ACCESS ALL)

1. SOUNDBITE (Turkish) TURKISH PRESIDENT RECEP TAYYIP ERDOGAN SAYING:

“Yesterday, we received deeply sorrowful news that plunged all 86 million of our citizens into grief. Our C-130 military cargo plane, which was carrying our unit that had participated in the fifth anniversary celebrations of the Karabakh Victory in Azerbaijan, crashed shortly after takeoff near the Signagi region, close to the Georgia–Azerbaijan border.

Tragically, we lost twenty of our heroic sons in this accident.

Immediately after receiving the news, our Minister of National Defense, along with our Ministers of Interior and Foreign Affairs, established contact with their counterparts. Search and rescue operations were launched without delay. In coordination with Georgian authorities, we deployed our unmanned aerial vehicles to assist with locating the wreckage.

By 5 p.m. the same day, we received confirmation that the wreckage of the aircraft had been found. The area was cordoned off for security reasons, and a 46-member crash investigation team was dispatched to the site. The aircraft’s black box has been recovered, and investigations are underway.

We have so far reached the remains of nineteen of our martyrs, and search efforts continue for the last one. During this process, I personally spoke with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze.

We are thoroughly investigating this tragic incident, which has caused profound sorrow not only among our nation but also among our Azerbaijani brothers and our Georgian friends. Georgian authorities are providing full cooperation at the highest level, and our Azerbaijani brothers are extending every possible support and assistance.

Our nation can rest assured: the Republic of Türkiye, together with Georgia and Azerbaijan, has mobilized all available resources for our fallen heroes. Ongoing work at the crash site is being closely monitored, and all necessary investigations will be done meticulously to clarify every aspect of the incident.” ANKARA, TÜRKİYE - NOV. 12, 2025: The bodies of 19 personnel have been recovered from the site of Tuesday's Turkish military cargo plane crash along the Georgia-Azerbaijan border, and search efforts are ongoing for the remaining victim, said Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Speaking at a Wednesday meeting of Justice and Development (AK) Party provincial heads in the capital Ankara, Erdogan said the plane’s black box has been recovered and investigations have begun.

“Ongoing work at the crash site is being closely monitored, and all necessary investigations will be done meticulously to clarify every aspect of the incident,” he added.

The president also noted that regular updates to the public on the plane crash from Türkiye’s National Defense Ministry and Communications Directorate will continue.

He urged the nation to be wary of misinformation about the crash and not to reward those “who stoop to dirty politics.”

A Turkish C-130 military cargo plane with 20 military personnel on board crashed Tuesday after taking off from Azerbaijan en route to Türkiye.