A cargo plane carrying five crew members disappeared off the coast of Karachi late Tuesday night after rapidly descending and abruptly changing course, triggering an urgent multi-agency search across the Arabian Sea, Pakistani aviation officials said.
The Boeing 737, operated by Karachi-based K2 Airways, was flying a cargo route from Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates to Karachi when its crew reported a navigation system problem at 9:18 p.m. local time, according to Pakistan’s Civil Aviation Authority. Radar data showed the aircraft descending sharply and making a sudden change in heading roughly three minutes later, before radar and radio contact was lost entirely about 155 nautical miles, some 178 miles, west of Karachi, the authority said in a statement posted on X.
The cause of the aircraft’s disappearance was not immediately known, and no debris or wreckage had been confirmed as of Tuesday night.
Navy Frigate Diverted as Search Intensifies
Pakistani authorities said they activated the country’s Rescue Coordination Centre within minutes of losing contact, deploying air and sea assets from both military and civilian agencies to locate the missing aircraft. According to multiple officials, the Pakistan Navy frigate PNS Zulfiqar was diverted to the last known location of the plane to assist in the search.
The Civil Aviation Authority said search-and-rescue operations remained underway in the Arabian Sea into the night, though officials cautioned that conditions and the scale of the search area could complicate efforts to quickly locate the aircraft or its crew.
Experts Puzzled by the Abrupt Descent
Aviation analysts said the manner in which the plane vanished from radar raised early questions about what may have gone wrong. Imran Aslam, an aviation expert, told the Pakistani news outlet ARY News that a sudden plunge was unusual even in the event of mechanical failure. “I still cannot understand how the plane went down so abruptly instead of gliding,” he said, noting that aircraft experiencing engine failure would typically be expected to glide rather than descend so sharply.
K2 Airways, the carrier operating the flight, is a privately held cargo airline based in Karachi that was established in 2018, according to the company’s website. The airline had not issued a public statement on the incident as of Tuesday night.
A Painful Precedent in Karachi’s Aviation History
Tuesday’s disappearance evokes memories of one of Pakistan’s worst aviation disasters, when a Pakistan International Airlines jetliner carrying 98 people crashed into a crowded neighbourhood near Karachi’s airport in May 2020 following an apparent engine failure during landing. All but one person aboard that flight died. A subsequent government report attributed the crash to human error on the part of the pilot, co-pilot and air traffic controllers.
Officials have not drawn any connection between the two incidents, and the investigation into Tuesday’s disappearance remains in its earliest stages. Authorities said they would provide updates as search efforts continue and more information becomes available.
