A cargo aircraft carrying five crew members has disappeared off the coast of Karachi after losing contact with air traffic controllers while operating a flight from Sharjah, United Arab Emirates, Pakistani aviation authorities have confirmed.
The K2 Airways Boeing 737 was travelling towards Karachi when it reported a navigation system malfunction before vanishing from radar on Tuesday night.
According to the Pakistan Airports Authority (PAA), the aircraft informed the Karachi Area Control Centre about a navigational system issue at 9:18 p.m. local time and was provided assistance by air traffic controllers.
Three minutes later, at 9:21 p.m., the aircraft was detected “rapidly descending” and making a significant change in direction before “radar contact and communication were lost” approximately 287 kilometres west of Karachi, Dawn reported.
Following the disappearance, the PAA said a joint search and rescue mission was launched involving the Pakistan Navy, Pakistan Air Force, and other relevant agencies.
Flight-tracking service Flightradar24 said initial tracking information suggested the aircraft experienced unusual altitude changes before entering a rapid 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.
The tracking platform added that the aircraft’s final recorded transmission showed it at 1,100 feet above mean sea level with a “reported vertical rate of -22,400 feet per minute.”
Flightradar24 also reported that the aircraft encountered GNSS interference shortly after departing Sharjah, similar to disruptions experienced by other aircraft operating in the region. The company said ADS-B tracking information returned after the aircraft moved beyond the affected area.
K2 Airways, a Karachi-based private cargo carrier, confirmed that five crew members were aboard the aircraft and said it was assisting authorities with the search effort.
“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 opened a probe into the incident to determine the circumstances surrounding the aircraft’s disappearance.
According to Flightradar24, the aircraft, registered as AP-BOI, joined K2 Airways’ fleet in 2024. The Boeing 737 was originally delivered to Russia’s Aeroflot as a passenger aircraft in 1999 before later operating with Garuda Indonesia.
The aircraft was converted into a freighter in 2012 and subsequently served with TNT Airways and ASL Airlines before joining K2 Airways.
