Search under way after Pakistan cargo plane vanishes off Karachi coast
A Pakistan-registered Boeing 737 cargo plane carrying five crew members has gone missing over the Arabian Sea after reporting a navigation problem while flying from Sharjah to Karachi.
Five crew aboard missing aircraft
A Pakistan-registered Boeing 737 cargo aircraft carrying five crew members has gone missing off the coast of Karachi after reporting a navigation problem while flying from Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates to Pakistan.
The aircraft, operated by K2 Airways, lost contact with air traffic control on Tuesday night, prompting Pakistani authorities to launch a search-and-rescue operation in the Arabian Sea.
Contact lost after technical report
Pakistan aviation authorities said the aircraft reported a navigation system issue at 9.18pm Pakistan time while approaching Karachi. Air traffic control attempted to guide the plane, but communication was lost minutes later after radar showed it descending rapidly.
The aircraft was around 155 nautical miles, or 287 kilometres, west of Karachi when contact was lost, according to Pakistan’s airports authority.
Flight data suggests sharp descent
Flight-tracking service Flightradar24 indicated the 27-year-old converted Boeing 737-400 freighter may have gone down in the sea southwest of Karachi after erratic altitude changes. Reuters reported that tracking data showed a steep descent in the aircraft’s final transmitted moments, though aviation experts warned that more information would be needed before drawing conclusions.
No official cause has been confirmed, and authorities had not announced any confirmed casualties at the time of the latest reports.
Search-and-rescue operation launched
Pakistan activated a coordinated search operation involving multiple agencies after the aircraft disappeared. AP reported that the response included the Pakistan Navy, Pakistan Air Force and National Shipping Corporation, with naval and aircraft assets and merchant vessels involved in the search.
K2 Airways said it was cooperating with the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority and other government agencies as efforts continued to locate the aircraft and crew.
Aircraft had long operating history
The missing aircraft was a Boeing 737-400 freighter, part of an older generation of the 737 family and not the 737 MAX model. Reuters reported that the aircraft was first delivered as a passenger jet in 1999 and later converted for cargo operations in 2012.
The aircraft entered service with K2 Airways in 2024 and was the carrier’s only aircraft, according to flight-tracking data cited by Reuters.
Pakistan aviation safety back in focus
The incident has renewed attention on aviation safety in Pakistan. If fatalities are confirmed, Reuters noted it would be the country’s first fatal air crash since 2020, when a Pakistan International Airlines Airbus A320 crashed near Karachi, killing 97 people.
For now, the priority remains the search for the missing crew and aircraft as authorities work to determine what happened in the final minutes of the flight.
