AlQa'dah 1, 1432, Sep 29, 2011, SPA -- A small plane with 18 people on board crashed in the Indonesian province of North Sumatra on Thursday, dpa quoted an official as saying. The Cessna 212 operated by Nusantara Buana Air left the provincial capital Medan at 7.25 am (0025 GMT) and was supposed to arrive at Kutacane in Aceh province an hour later. "It crashed 26 miles from Medan," Transportation Ministry spokesman Bambang Ervan said. Police and military rescuers were being sent to the area where the plane was believed to have crashed, Detik.com news portal reported. "We have received a report that the plane sent an SOS signal," local Air Force commander Bonar Hutagaol was quoted as saying by Detik.com. It was the third crash involving a small plane in Indonesia this month. On September 22, a cargo plane crashed in Papua province, killing its American pilot and two passengers. Less than two weeks earlier, another small plane crashed in the same area, killing its Australian pilot and his Slovakian co-pilot.
