MOSCOW, January 9. /TASS/. The An-2 plane that made a hard landing in the Nenets Autonomous Region attempted to land on the airstrip in the settlement of Karatayka, a source in aviation services told TASS.

"After taking off from Ust-Kara, the crew reported icing and requested landing in Karatayka, but was unable to land due to bad weather. The plane then turned to Varandey, but communication was lost and the emergency beacon went off," the source said.

Head of the Naryan-Mar United Aviation Squadron Valery Ostapchuk said that the plane was certified for flying and the pilot is an experienced one.

"The plane has a certificate of airworthiness, it was ready to fly. The commander is 56 years old, he has been flying for over 25 years," Ostapchuk said.

On Monday, the plane en route from Naryan-Mar to Karatayka and Varandey made a hard landing 10 kilometers away from Karatayka. There were 2 crew members and 10 passengers on board. According to the latest information, two people died and 10 got injured. A criminal case has been opened over charges of flight safety violation that led to unintentional death of two or more people.