Pakistani cargo plane with five on board goes missing: What happened in the last 3 “chaotic” minutes? Everything you need to know | Today’s news
A Pakistan-registered Boeing 737 cargo plane en route from Sharjah to Karachi disappeared from radar over the Arabian Sea, about 300 kilometers west of Karachi, on Tuesday.
The K2 Airways Boeing 737-400 freighter has five crew members on board, the Pakistan Airports Authority said in a post on X.
They reported that the plane lost contact with air traffic control on Tuesday evening after reporting a problem with its navigation system en route from Sharjah to Karachi.
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“K2 Airways B 737 of a Pakistan Cargo flight en route from Sharjah to Karachi at 2118 PST reported a problem with the navigation system and was immediately controlled by KARACHI ACC,” the Pakistan Airports Authority said.
The plane probably “fell into the sea”
According to initial flight data, the 27-year-old converted freighter operated by K2 Airways likely crashed into the sea southwest of Karachi after a series of sharp changes in altitude before a sharp final descent, according to flight tracking service Flightradar24, Reuters reported.
The Pakistan Airports Authority also claimed that the aircraft “was observed on radar descending rapidly and with a rapid course change”. She reported that RADAR contact and communications were subsequently lost, approximately 155 NM west of Karachi.
Authorities have launched a coordinated search and rescue operation at sea through various agencies to locate the missing plane, the Pakistan Airports Authority said on social media.
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“Following this event, the RESCUE COORD CENTER was activated and a coordinated search and rescue operation was launched at sea through various agencies to locate the lost aircraft. There were five crew members on board,” the office said in a series of posts on X.
If confirmed, the incident would be the first fatal crash in Pakistan since 2020, when a Pakistan International Airlines Airbus A320 crashed short of a runway in Karachi, killing 97 people after the pilots were distracted by a discussion about the coronavirus before a failed landing attempt.
‘Chaotic Final Minutes’: Timeline
The plane reported a problem with its navigation system at 21:18 Pakistan Standard Time (1618 GMT) while flying towards Karachi, the airport authority said.
Local air traffic control tried to guide the plane, but three minutes later radar systems showed the plane was descending rapidly and contact was lost, the authority said.
The flight was about 155 nautical miles (287 km) west of Karachi at the time, according to the statement.
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The plane went missing while flying over the Arabian Sea near Ormara in Balochistan, Pakistan, local media Geo News reported.
Flightradar24 tracking data showed the chaotic final minutes as the plane plunged 5,000 feet in less than a minute, climbed back about 6,000 feet in just 30 seconds, before a catastrophic dive from 36,550 feet.
The last data point transmitted placed the aircraft at 1,100 feet above sea level with a vertical speed of minus 22,400 feet per minute – about 400 kilometers per hour – an extremely steep and abnormal rate of descent.
“Anytime you see something this extreme it gets your attention, but without more information it’s too early to say what it means,” said Anthony Brickhouse, an aviation security consultant.
What do we know about the plane?
The missing plane is part of Boeing’s decades-old 737 family, but is two generations older than the version of the 737 MAX that was involved in the recent safety crisis.
It uses engines made by CFM International, which is jointly owned by GE Aerospace and France’s Safran.
The 737-400 was first delivered as a passenger aircraft to Russia’s Aeroflot in 1999 and was converted to a freighter in 2012, according to Flightradar24.
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It is the only K2 Airways aircraft and entered service with the carrier in 2024.
K2 Airways and Boeing did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
