Pakistan Expands Search For Missing K2 Airways Cargo Plane As Rough Seas Hamper Rescue Effort

Pakistani rescuers scoured the waters around the presumed crash site of a Boeing cargo plane on Wednesday, hours after it lost contact with air traffic control on its way to Karachi with five crew members on board, authorities said, even as rough seas hampered the search effort.

Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif directed authorities to speed up search and rescue operations for the 27-year-old converted freighter, which went missing in the Arabian Sea after reporting a navigational system problem.

K2 Airways, the plane's operator, said in a statement that the aircraft, a Boeing 737-400 registration AP-BOI, was flying from Sharjah to Karachi when it lost contact with Air Traffic Control at about 21:21 hours Pakistan time. The crew comprised five members: Mohammad Rizwan Idrees (Pilot in Command), Faisal Mehmood (First Officer), Muhammad Toufique Khan (Load Master), Arif Siddiqui (Engineer), and Mohammad Hamid (Engineer).

"Search and rescue operations are being conducted by the concerned organisations. K2 Airways is fully cooperating with the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority and other government agencies. We continue to pray, earnestly, for the safety of our colleagues," said the airlines in a statement.

The plane reported a navigational system issue at 9:18 p.m. Pakistan Standard Time (1618 GMT) while flying towards Karachi, the Pakistan Airports Authority said. Local air traffic control tried to guide it but three minutes later radar systems showed the plane descending rapidly and communication was lost.

The flight was about 155 nautical miles (287 km) west of Karachi at the time, according to the statement.

Chaotic Final Minutes

The final minutes of Flightradar24's tracking data appeared chaotic, showing the plane plunging about 5,000 feet in less than a minute before soaring about 6,000 feet in 30 seconds and then entering a catastrophic dive from 36,550 feet. The last transmitted data point placed the aircraft at 1,100 feet above sea level, with a vertical rate of minus 22,400 feet per minute at about 400 kilometres per hour, an extremely steep and abnormal rate of descent.

The missing aircraft is one of Boeing's decades-old 737-400s, two generations older than the 737 MAX that has been involved in a safety crisis. It uses engines made by CFM International, jointly owned by GE Aerospace and France's Safran.

The 737-400 was first delivered as a passenger plane to Russia's Aeroflot in 1999 and was converted to a freighter in 2012, according to Flightradar24. It is K2 Airways' only aircraft and entered service with the carrier in 2024.

Authorities have made no official declaration on the status of the crew, although Sharif expressed his "heartfelt condolences" to their families.

K2 Airways said it was cooperating with the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority and other government agencies. Boeing has not yet commented.