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The jet, a Canadian-built Bombardier Challenger CRJ200 traveling the 775-mile route from the provincial city of Kokshetau to Almaty, crashed several miles from the airport in Almaty as the pilot attempted to land.

Emergency officials said there were no survivors.

Kazakh officials at the scene said that the accident occurred when the pilot attempted to land in a heavy fog. Yuri Ilyin, the deputy head of the emergency department for Almaty, said that there were no signs that the crash was caused by a mechanical malfunction

"There was no fire," said Mr. Ilyin, according to Kazakh state media. "The plane was only destroyed on impact when it hit the ground." Rescue workers recovered the plane's flight recorder, he said.

SCAT, a private Kazakh airline with a fleet of about 10 planes that runs domestic and international routes through Kazakhstan, said in a statement that the plane made two attempts to land in "difficult weather conditions" and crashed during the second attempt.

The company released a passenger list, which included five crew members and 16 passengers, including one child.

Nursultan Nazarbayev, Kazakhstan's president, said in a statement that aid would be distributed to the families of the victims of the crash. "In the name of the people of Kazakhstan and myself, I express the deepest condolences to the families and those close to those who died," the statement said.

Kazakh prosecutors opened a criminal investigation for the violation of safety regulations during the crash. It was not clear if the prosecutors had charged anyone in connection with the case.

In late December, a Soviet-made Antonov An-72 carrying 20 members of Kazakhstan's border patrol service and seven crew crashed while landing at Shymkent in southern Kazakhstan.

Bad weather was also believed to be the cause of that crash. Kazakh authorities said that they had opened an investigation into the crash, but have not made any formal charges.