What caused the Turkish Hercules aircraft to crash?

Former pilots give verdict on incident that left 20 dead

- ALEX CROFT

A Turkish military plane crashed in Georgia on Tuesday, killing all 20 people on board in the Nato member's deadliest military incident for half a decade.

The C-130 cargo aircraft had only just departed Azerbaijan for Turkey when it came plummeting down. Footage posted on social media showed the plane breaking apart in midair, sending its parts hurtling towards the ground.

Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan said yesterday that authorities had found the black box after the crash in the Sighnaghi municipality of Georgia's Kakheti district. A 46-person team was dispatched from Turkey to carry out search and rescue operations alongside Georgian authorities.

But the incident remains shrouded in mystery, with Ankara yet to provide a reason for the crash. Experts, including a former C-130 pilot in the RAF, have raised questions over how the plane appeared to shatter into pieces so quickly.

The Independent talked to experts about what could have caused the crash.

What is the C-130 Hercules?

The C-130 Hercules that crashed was a 57-year-old military aircraft.

The model, which is used widely by air forces around the world, is a four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft capable of operating from unprepared runways.

FlightRadar24 and two Turkish defence analysts said the plane that crashed had entered the Turkish Air Force in 2010. Footage of the crash has raised questions over why the incident happened.