Japan's defence ministry sent planes and helicopters to search for a military aircraft with four crew members aboard that went missing earlier today. <br/><br/>The LR-2 reconnaissance plane disappeared from radar near Hakodate airport on the northern island of Hokkaido while flying to pick up a patient in Hakodate at the request of Hokkaido's governor. <br/><br/>The propeller aircraft was scheduled to take the patient from hospital in Hakodate to Sapporo, Hokkaido's capital city, for special medical treatment.