Bambang Ervan said that the plane went into the sea near the province of West Papua.

It is not known if anyone has survived the crash.

The Indonesian archipelago relies heavily on air transport and has one of Asia's worst air safety records.

Ervan said there were 21 passengers and six crew on board the twin turbo-prop plane, which was flying from Sorong city to Kaimana district in West Papua province.

"An MA-60 aircraft crashed into the sea, some 500 metres (yards) away from the airstrip," Mr Ervan said.

"When the accident happened, the weather was bad with limited visibility."