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Greece's Air Force faced a storm of criticism Thursday after posting photographs of C-130 transport aircraft with the caption "Photos of the Day" on the same day Türkiye was returning the remains of 20 service members killed when a Turkish military cargo plane of the same model crashed two days earlier.
The Hellenic Air Force's official social media account published images of multiple C-130 aircraft lined up on a runway, accompanied by the hashtags #C130 #C27 #SuperPuma.
The post appeared on Thursday as an A400M military cargo plane was transporting the bodies of the fallen service members from Tbilisi to Ankara. The timing drew immediate backlash from Turkish social media users, who called the post provocative and inappropriate. The Greek military deleted the post but initially issued no public statement regarding its removal.
The incident added diplomatic tension to an already somber week for Türkiye, which concluded recovery operations Thursday following the Nov. 11 crash near the Georgia-Azerbaijan border.
Following the widespread criticism, the Hellenic Air Force issued a formal condolence letter in reversal addressing to Turkish Air Force Commander General Ziya Cemal Kadioglu hours after deleting their post criticized as "inhumane" in Turkish media. The letter, dated Nov. 12, 2025, and signed by Lieutenant General Dimosthenis Grigoriadis, acknowledged the controversy and expressed sympathy for the loss.
"I am writing to you shocked and saddened, by the tragic news of the Turkish Air Force C-130 crash, which resulted to the loss of twenty military personnel of Turkish Air Force," the letter stated. "The terrible news has been met with enormous dismay. Words cannot accurately describe a tragedy like this and express my great grief and sorrow for the terrible loss of your personnel. Our thoughts are with you at this very difficult time."
The Greek Air Force chief conveyed condolences "on behalf of the Hellenic Air Force and myself" and expressed "sincere and heartfelt condolences for their loss" while conveying "my deepest sympathy to their families and the Turkish Air Force personnel."
The formal letter represents a reversal from the initial silence following the deletion of the controversial social media post. Turkish officials have not publicly commented on either the original post or the subsequent condolence letter.
The Turkish C-130E cargo aircraft went down on Nov. 11 in a mountainous region near Signagi Municipality in Georgia's Kakheti region, approximately five kilometers from the Azerbaijan border. The 20-person crew included a 10-member maintenance team that had been supporting F-16 fighter jets participating in Victory Day events in Azerbaijan.
The aircraft had departed from Kayseri at 9:02 a.m. on Nov. 11 and landed safely in Ganja, Azerbaijan at 11:06 a.m. to transport personnel and equipment. It took off again at 1:15 p.m., bound for Merzifon's 5th Main Jet Base Command. Last radio contact occurred at 1:50 p.m. with Tbilisi Air Traffic Control, after which both radio and radar contact were lost. At 2:34 p.m., authorities received confirmation that the aircraft had crashed.
Search and rescue teams from Georgia and Azerbaijan worked alongside Turkish personnel to recover all 20 bodies from the wreckage. Georgian rescue teams reached the site at 3:02 p.m. on Nov. 11, with the area secured by 5 p.m. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced on Tuesday that 19 bodies had been recovered, with the final victim located later that day.
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