Turkish experts have not ruled out the possibility that the Lockheed C-130 Hercules military transport plane that crashed on November 11 in Georgia near the border with Azerbaijan may have been shot down. This was reported by Hürriyet newspaper columnist Abdulkadir Selvi, who has close ties to government circles.

"Did our plane crash or was it shot down? A thorough investigation is underway. Both the likelihood of the plane crashing and the likelihood of it being shot down are being investigated." - he noted.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's office confirmed the investigation was being carried out with particular care. The wreckage will be transported to Kayseri for examination. The plane did not send any distress signals, and video footage showing it disintegrating in mid-air, with the wings being torn off and an explosion, has heightened suspicions. The Caucasus remains a tense region, Ankara emphasizes.

A similar hypothesis was put forward by former pilot Ilya Tumanov (Fighterbomber): in his opinion, the plane could have been hit by one or two missiles. All 20 people on board, including the crew, were killed. The 1968 aircraft was returning from Ganja after training exercises. Georgia and Azerbaijan are coordinating the search with Turkey, and Lockheed Martin has promised to assist in the investigation.

The shootdown theory echoes previous incidents: in 2020, Azerbaijan accidentally shot down a Russian Mi-24. Experts note the structural fatigue of the older C-130s, but the in-flight breakup raises questions. Official conclusions are expected after an analysis of the black boxes.