Crew error is being considered as the likely cause of an An-24 passenger aircraft crashing in the Amur Region, a source in the emergency services told TASS.

"As a potential scenario, crew error is being considered, with a hillside collision while landing in poor visibility. Other possibilities will be considered as well," the source said.

Today, about 1 p.m. local time or 4 a.m. GMT, contact was lost with the crew of an An-24 aircraft belonging to Irkutsk’s Angara Airline en route from Khabarovsk to Tynda via Blagoveshchensk. While landing at Tynda Airport, the plane attempted a second approach, after which contact with it was lost.