(CNN) -- Search and rescue teams on Friday were trying to reach an airplane that crashed with 18 people aboard in the mountains of western Indonesia, an air transportation official said.





Air traffic controllers lost contact with the airplane Thursday morning shortly after it took off from the Medan Polonia Airport in North Sumatra.





It was bound for the Kutacane district in Aceh province when it crashed in the mountains in North Sumatra, said Henry Bakti, Indonesia's director general for air transportation.





The plane was spotted during an aerial search, and it appeared to be largely intact, Bakti told reporters. The condition of the passengers, including two children and two infants, was not immediately known, he said.





Nusantara Buana Air owns the plane, which operates nine planes and services destinations in Aceh from the Medan Polonia and Banda Aceh airports.





Airplanes are the primary mode of transportation between Indonesia's scattered islands.





In May, a plane that crashed off the coast of Kaimana killed at least 15 people.





Indonesia's poor aviation record has led the European Union and the United States to blacklist a number of the country's small airlines, including Nusantara Buana Air.





CNN's Kathy Quiano contributed to this report.
Where was the plane headed for? How many people were on board the plane? How many children and how many infants were among the passengers? Were there any children on board? Where did the airplane crash? Where did the plane crash? Where was the flight bound for? What appeared to be largely intact? How many people was the airplane carrying?
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question: Where was the plane headed for?, answer: the Kutacane district in Aceh province | question: How many people were on board the plane?, answer: 18 | question: How many children and how many infants were among the passengers?, answer: two | question: Were there any children on board?, answer: two | question: Where did the airplane crash?, answer: the mountains of western Indonesia, | question: Where did the plane crash?, answer: mountains of western Indonesia, | question: Where was the flight bound for?, answer: Kutacane district in Aceh province | question: What appeared to be largely intact?, answer: plane | question: How many people was the airplane carrying?, answer: 18