K2 Airways cargo plane goes missing off Karachi Coast with five crew members aboard

A K2 Airways Boeing 737 cargo aircraft, en route from Sharjah to Karachi, went missing off the coast of Karachi late Tuesday night after reporting a navigational system issue, according to the Pakistan Airports Authority (PAA).

A K2 Airways Boeing 737 cargo aircraft, en route from Sharjah to Karachi, went missing off the coast of Karachi late Tuesday night after reporting a navigational system issue, according to the Pakistan Airports Authority (PAA).

The aircraft, identified as K2 Airways Flight KTA-1732, was carrying five crew members. At 21:18 PST, the crew reported a navigational issue to the Karachi Area Control Centre (ACC) and was promptly guided. However, within three minutes, at 21:21 PST, the aircraft was observed on radar rapidly descending with a rapid heading change. Radar contact and communication were subsequently lost approximately 155 nautical miles west of Karachi.

Flight tracking data indicated the aircraft made an unexpected right turn before plunging into a steep descent at an estimated rate of up to 15,000 feet per minute. The final ADS-B data point placed the aircraft at 1,100 feet with a vertical rate of -22,400 feet per minute before it disappeared from radar. Despite repeated attempts by air traffic controllers to re-establish communication, no response was received from the cockpit.

Following the incident, the Rescue Coordination Centre was activated, and a coordinated search and rescue operation was launched at sea through various agencies to locate the missing aircraft. The aircraft involved was reportedly a Boeing 737-400 freighter registered as AP-BOI. The cause of the accident will be determined after a comprehensive investigation examining radar data, flight tracking information, ATC recordings, and communication logs.