Cargo Plane With Five Crew Goes Missing Off Karachi Coast, Search Underway

A cargo plane carrying five crew members has gone missing off the coast of Karachi after losing contact with air traffic control while flying from Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates, Pakistani aviation authorities said.

The K2 Airways Boeing 737 was en route to Karachi when it reported a navigation system problem before disappearing from radar on Tuesday night.

According to the Pakistan Airports Authority (PAA), the aircraft reported a navigational system issue at 9:18 p.m. local time and was guided by the Karachi Area Control Centre. Three minutes later, at 9:21 p.m., the aircraft was observed "rapidly descending" and making a sharp change in heading before "radar contact and communication were lost" about 287 km west of Karachi, Dawn reported.

The PAA said a coordinated search and rescue operation involving the Pakistan Navy, Air Force and other agencies was launched after the aircraft disappeared.

Flight-tracking platform Flightradar24 said preliminary data showed the aircraft experienced a sharp fluctuation in altitude before a steep descent.

"Preliminary ADS-B data indicate a loss of altitude, followed by a climb, and then a second, sudden and dramatic loss of altitude," the company said.

It added that the aircraft's final transmitted position placed it at 1,100 feet above mean sea level with a "reported vertical rate of -22,400 feet per minute."

According to Flightradar24, the aircraft also experienced GNSS interference shortly after departing Sharjah, similar to other aircraft in the region, resulting in degraded navigation data. The company said ADS-B tracking resumed once the aircraft exited the affected area.

K2 Airways, a private cargo airline based in Karachi, confirmed that five crew members were on board and said it was cooperating with authorities.

"We continue to pray, earnestly, for the safety of our colleagues," the airline said in a statement, BBC reported.

The Bureau of Air Safety Investigation has launched an investigation into the incident.

According to Flightradar24, the aircraft, registered as AP-BOI, entered service with K2 Airways in 2024. Originally delivered to Russia's Aeroflot as a passenger aircraft in 1999, it later flew for Garuda Indonesia before being converted into a freighter in 2012. It subsequently operated with TNT Airways and ASL Airlines.