TransAll crash in Türkiye

On 25 January 2024, the crew of one of the few remaining Türk Hava Kuvvetleri Komutanlığı (Turkish Air Force, TurAF) C-160T TransAll aircraft had a miraculous escape at Kayseri-Erkilet Airport.

Shortly after take-off, the aircraft suffered technical issues and returned to base immediately. The landing of the aircraft was filmed from several angles and it is clear that the crew fought the aircraft back to base while passing super low over the city of Kayseri.

The aircraft, serial 69-036, was an indigenously upgraded Target Acquisition/Command and Control (C2) Aircraft operated by 221 Filo (with an intelligence services twist). The designation that the TurAF gave it is C-160T, named “Gören-1”.

It is the second crash of a TransAll in Turkish service. 69-030 also crashed at Kayseri, but it was lost to flames after it crashed on 14 November 1988.

The TurAF upgraded three of their TransAlls to the C-160T version. The status of the two remaining Gören aircraft is not completely clear. They were seen in storage at Kayseri in 2019 but it is expected that they are or can be made airworthy again. The regular C-160D light transport aircraft have been withdrawn from use and replaced by the A400M.