Antonov An-26 Crashes In Russia With 22 Passengers And 6 Crew

Simple Flying

By Linnea Ahlgren

Published Jul 6, 2021

CHUKOTKA, RUSSIA - JULY 10, 2019: An Antonov An-26 military transport aircraft flying over the Kapitan Khlebnikov icebreaker in the Bering Strait off the village of Selo Lavrentiya, on the eastern coast of Chukotka. Yuri Smityuk/TASS (Photo by Yuri SmityukTASS via Getty Images)

On Tuesday, an Antonov An-26 aircraft belonging to Kamchatka Aviation Enterprise went missing just before landing at Palana Airport. The plane, carrying 28 people, including one child, has disappeared from the radar and is presumed to have crashed into the sea. At the time of publication, authorities announced that parts of the aircraft had been located about five kilometers off the coast.

Failed to make scheduled communication

An Antonov An-26 twin-engined turboprop has gone missing in the Russian Far East. The plane, carrying 22 passengers and six crew, is presumed to have crashed just off the coast of the Kamchatka peninsula. The aircraft disappeared from the radar after failing to make its scheduled communication about nine kilometers out from Palana Airport.

Search and rescue efforts are currently underway. The BBC reported that a weak signal from the aircraft's black box has been detected just off the coast. Ships were sent to the location along with a helicopter.

Fog prevalent in the area complicated the work of emergency services. However, at the time of publication, news has just come in that rescuers have found fragments of the plane about four to five kilometers off the coastline, RIA Novosti reports.

The plane with tail number RA-26085 took its first flight in 1982. It belonged to Kamchatka Aviation Enterprise, also known as Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky Air Enterprise, and was operating Flight PTK251 from Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky Airport. One child below the age of 12 is confirmed to have been on board the aircraft.

Search and rescue An-24 — Search and rescue efforts coordinated by the Russian Ministry of Emergencies are currently underway. Photo: Getty Images

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Palana Mayor on board the plane

Meanwhile, the passenger list also included the Mayor of Palana, Olga Mokhireva, along with the heads of the financial department, the department of education, social protection, culture, and sports, Radio Sputnik reports.

No official statement has yet been released regarding the incident. Earlier today, the regional Ministry of Emergencies issued a statement to news agency RIA Novosti, confirming only that the aircraft failed to communicate as scheduled.

"On the afternoon of July 6, the operational duty shift of the crisis management center of the Russian Emergencies Ministry's headquarters for the Kamchatka Territory received information that the An-26 aircraft, which was making a passenger flight Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky - Palana, did not make the scheduled communication session at the indicated time," a ministry spokesperson said.

All Antonov An-24 aircraft were built during Soviet times. Photo: Eric Bannwarth via Flickr

The An-24

The Antonov An-24 is a 44-seat twin-turboprop passenger aircraft that was designed by the Antonov Design Bureau. Including the Chinese derivative Y-7, a total of 1,367 were produced between 1959 and 1979.

In December last year, Russian passenger carrier Polar Airlines experienced problems with its An-24s on two separate occasions. Meanwhile, in March this year, an An-26 belonging to Kazakhstan's National Security Committee crashed at Almaty Airport.

We will continue to monitor the information regarding the fate of Flight PTK251 as it comes in throughout the day. This article will be updated with any major developments.