Pakistan K2 Airways cargo plane missing: Everything we know about Boeing 737-400 | Today’s news
A Pakistani cargo plane with five crew members disappeared from radar over the Arabian Sea on Tuesday evening shortly after reporting a problem with its navigation system on a flight from Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates to Karachi.
The Boeing 737-400 cargo plane, operated by private carrier K2 Airways, lost contact approximately 155 nautical miles (287 kilometers) west of Karachi, prompting Pakistan to launch a large-scale search and rescue operation involving the navy, air force and several civilian agencies.
According to the Pakistan Airports Authority (PAA), the crew reported a problem with the navigation system at 21:18 local time (2118 PST).
The Karachi Area Control Center (ACC) immediately provided navigational assistance.
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“However, at 2121 PST, the aircraft was observed on radar descending rapidly with a rapid course change. Subsequently, radar contact and communications were lost approximately 155 NM west of Karachi,” PAA said in a statement.
Search operation extended throughout the Arabian Sea
After contact was lost, the PAA activated its rescue coordination center and launched a coordinated search and rescue operation at sea.
Geo News reported that Pakistan has greatly expanded search efforts and deployed additional naval vessels and military aircraft to locate the missing aircraft.
According to sources quoted by the broadcaster, the Pakistan Navy has dispatched the warship PNS Zulfiqar while Pakistan’s Saab surveillance aircraft is scanning the search zone from the air.
A Navy ATR aircraft was also deployed from Turbat and another naval vessel PNS Hunain joined the operation. Commercial ships operated by the National Shipping Corporation were also pressed into service to assist in the search and pool military and civilian resources.
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Government officials familiar with the matter also told Bloomberg that Pakistan has deployed navy and air force assets, including a frigate, to support the rescue mission.
Flight tracking data shows dramatic changes in altitude
Preliminary flight tracking data released by Flightradar24 indicated that the plane experienced significant altitude fluctuations during its final moments.
According to a flight tracking platform, the Boeing 737 first lost altitude, then climbed briefly before suffering a “second, sudden and dramatic loss of altitude”.
The Pakistan Airports Authority has not disclosed the cause of the incident or provided any official information about the condition of the aircraft or its crew.
About planes and K2 Airways
The missing aircraft was a 27-year-old Boeing 737-400 freighter and the only aircraft registered to K2 Airways, a Karachi-based private airline founded in May 2018.
According to aviation data provider Cirium, the aircraft joined K2 Airways in 2024 under a lease from AerCap. Before joining Pakistan Airlines, it served several operators as a passenger and cargo aircraft. His previous recorded flight took place on June 28.
The aircraft departed from Sharjah and operated a route that usually takes less than two hours.
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Pakistan aviation security under control
The incident has again highlighted Pakistan’s aviation safety record, which has seen several fatal accidents in the past two decades.
The country’s last major air disaster occurred in 2020 when a Pakistan International Airlines passenger plane crashed during a failed landing attempt, killing 97 people on board and one person on the ground.
As search operations continue in the Arabian Sea, authorities have yet to determine what led to the disappearance of the K2 Airways cargo plane or the fate of the five crew members on board. The Pakistan Airports Authority said the rescue operation was still underway in coordination with several agencies.
