An Antonov An-26 aircraft with service from the city of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky to the town of Palana lost contact with ground crew and disappeared from radar during its landing approach at about 15:00 local time. Flight 251 was about 10 kilometers (roughly 6 miles) away from Palana's airport when it disappeared, and local officials speculate that the aircraft had crashed and all those on board are presumed dead.

According to the local transport ministry and Russian media outlets, the An-26 carried 22 passenger and 6 crew, belonged to a company called the Kamchatka Aviation Enterprise, had been in operation since 1982, and was also carrying Olga Mokhireva, the head of the local Palana government. Some outlets also report that investigators have located aircraft debris on both land and in the sea.

As of now, it is unclear why the aircraft went missing, though an investigation has been launched and poor weather is suspected to be a factor in the incident. A search and rescue operation involving a pair of helicopters and an aircraft was deployed to inspect the missing aircraft's route. Alexei Khabarov, the director of Kamchatka Aviation Enterprise stated that the An-26 was technically sound prior to the incident. In 2012, an Antonov An-28 also belonging to Kamchatka Aviation Enterprise crashed into a mountain while flying the same route, resulting in 10 deaths and 4 injuries. Russian state media reported that both pilots killed in the 2012 crash were found to have alcohol in their blood.  

Note: The first photo used in this article depicts an AN-26 of the Czech Air Force, and is not the aircraft involved in today's incident. It is just to provide a visual to the AN-26 aircraft model. The other images were retrieved from the public domain, and can be used for commercial purposes without other citation or reference.