28 individuals lost their lives on Tuesday, the 6th of July, 2021, when a Soviet-era Antonov An-26 twin-engine turboprop passenger aircraft (tail number RA- 26085), crashed into the mountainous peninsula of Kamchatka, Russia. Officials stated that the aircraft appears to have lost radio contact with air traffic control, a mere 10 minutes, or 5.5 miles before they were expected to land in the town of Palana’s airport, near the sea of Okhotsk.
According to a statement issued by the Governor of this region, Vladmir Solodov, Kamchatka Aviation Enterprise Flight 251 appeared to be in the process of a second attempt at landing in unfavorable weather conditions when the aircraft crashed into a cliff. In a matter of hours, airborne search crews who were dispatched to recover any survivors, found remnants of Flight 251’s fuselage scattered across the shoreline as well as in the sea. Unfortunately, none of the 22 passengers and 6 crew members on-board survived. Village Mayor, Olga Mokhireva is also stated to have been among the individuals in this aircraft.
In recent years, although Russia’s aviation sector has successfully revamped its existing fleets, and Aeroflot, the country’s state-run airline, operates over 200 Airbus and Boeing jets. However, in isolate regions such as these, airline service providers usually tend to employ the use of several Soviet-era aircraft that are either in dire need of extensive repair work or immediate decommissioning. This is the second such incident that has taken place in this very location, and the 3rd aviation catastrophe that has come to haunt Russia’s expansive yet deteriorating domestic aviation sector in less than 4 years.
