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“A very weak radio signal was detected. It is likely the radio beacon of the missing An-26 on-board recorder. It turns on when the plane crashes,” the source told the Interfax news agency, adding that the source of the signal was probably in the Sea of Okhotsk.
The connection to the Kamčiatskoe aviapredprijatije aircraft, which took off from Kamchatka Petropavlovsk, was cut off approximately 10 minutes before the planned landing at Palana Airport, which has a population of approximately 3,000. Weather conditions were reportedly unfavorable at the time, with fog and low clouds in the vicinity of the airport.
Alexei Chrabrov, CEO of Kamčiatskoe aviapredprijatije, told Interfax that the 1982 production aircraft was in good working order.
“The aircraft is technically in order. It was issued in accordance with the requirements of the rules and regulations, in full compliance with the requirements of safety standards,” said A. Chrabrov.
According to authorities, another An-26 and several helicopters are involved in the search for the missing plane.
Valentina Glazova, a spokeswoman for the regional branch of Russia’s Transport Prosecutor’s Office, told the AFP news agency that there were 22 passengers and six crew members on the missing plane.
“There is a search and rescue operation,” he said. “All we know now is what we were able to determine: that the connection to the plane was lost and that it did not land.”
Russian news agencies quoted local officials as saying that most of the passengers were Palana residents, including four local administration officials and the head of the city, Olga Mochiriov.
The governments of the Kamchatka region have published a list of 28 people on board. Includes O. Mochiriova and a boy born in 2014.
The report says that the connection with the An-26 was cut when the aircraft was 9 km from the destination.
Searches are carried out within a 15-25 km radius around Palana Airport, with a particular focus on the Sea of Okhotsk region.
“There is objective evidence that the plane crashed into the sea,” a source told TASS.
The Kamchatka government has indicated that five An-26s are used to connect remote settlements on the peninsula.
