Plane with 28 people on board has crashed near sea

An Antonov An-26, operated by the Kamchatka Aviation Enterprise, crashed while on approach to Palana Airport on the Kamchatka peninsula, Russia. The aircraft was travelling from Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky Airport (PKC/UHPP), Russia to Palana Airport (UHPL), Russia when it impacted the top of a cliff. Air traffic controllers lost contact with the Antonov An-26 turboprop aircraft which was flying over the remote Kamchatka peninsula, in Russia’s Far East. It had 28 people on board, a six-year-old girl was among those travelling on the flight when the aircraft crashed while making a second approach to land.

Russian officials are investigating whether the plane’s crash was the result of safety rule violations or bad weather conditions. The Federal Air Transport Agency told Moscow daily RBK that heavy clouds and fog were reported around the area. Two helicopters and an aircraft were involved in search operations. Wreckage of the plane was found on a hillside and in the Sea of Okhotsk but darkness fell in the east of Russia, preventing a thorough search until morning. Scorched grass can be seen at what searchers say was the impact point as the plane flew too low on its second approach to the small village airport. The plane crashed on the shore which it should have cleared with a height of some 1,900 ft on approach to the destination.

Parts of the plane’s stabiliser were found on a hill, while the tail was located on a cliff, said the report.

Other parts of the aircraft were ”washed into the sea” and the aircraft was “completely destroyed”, it was reported.  “One part of the An-26 fuselage was located on the slope of Pyatibratka Hill, the second was seen in the sea about four kilometres from the coast.”
Kamchatka Aviation Enterprise is a small local carrier, serving routes to remote towns and cities, using a handful of Soviet and Czechoslovak planes from the Communist-era.

The An-26 is a twin-engined turboprop designed in the Soviet Union, back in the 1960s. It entered service in 1970 and production halted in 1986. Hundreds remain in use, primarily by military operators.

Aircraft Information:

Airline: Kamchatka Aviation Enterprise

Code: PTK

Aircraft: Antonov An-26B-100

Registration: RA-26085

Serial Number: 12310

First Flew: 1982

Age: 39 Yrs

Callsign: Petrokam

THOUGHTS AND PRAYERS GO OUT TO THE IMMEDIATE FAMILIES AND FRIENDS AND EVERYONE AT KAE