Plane crashes with 28 people aboard in Russia

A passenger plane carrying 28 people crashed in Russia on Tuesday, according to authorities.

Russian news agencies reported that none of the passengers on board are believed to have survived, The New York Times reported.

The Soviet-made AN-26 plane was flying through the mountainous Kamchatka peninsula in eastern Russia when it lost contact with air traffic control shortly before it was expected to land in the town of Palana, according to the newspaper.

Search crews later found pieces of the plane’s fuselage in the sea and shore, according to officials. The plane, called the Kamchatka Aviation Enterprise Flight 251, appeared to have attempted a second landing in foggy conditions when it hit a cliff, according to the Times. 

“The crash is presumed to have occurred during a go-around approach during landing in poor visibility,” Vladimir Solodov, governor of the Kamchatka region, said in a statement.

KP RU video of An-26 crash site pic.twitter.com/B3oY8pEBWB

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The regional government published the names of all those on board shortly after the crash. Six crew members and 22 passengers were on the plane, including two children. 

“The plane approached landing in difficult weather conditions, with poor visibility and a crosswind,” an emergency services official told the Russian Interfax news agency. “It was not successful the first time, and the second time it hit a cliff without noticing it.”

This is the third major aviation incident to occur in Russia in less than four years, the Times noted.

In 2018, a plane crashed into a field shortly after taking off from Moscow, killing the 71 people aboard. In 2019, a plane made an emergency landing  after it caught on fire, killing 41 people.