Pakistani rescue teams are combing the waters off the coast of Karachi after a Boeing cargo plane carrying five crew members lost contact with air traffic control late Tuesday night, authorities confirmed. The aircraft, operated by K2 Airways, was en route to Jinnah International Airport when it reported a navigational system problem before vanishing from radar.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has ordered an acceleration of search and rescue operations, expressing his “heartfelt condolences” to the families of the missing crew. The plane, a 27-year-old Boeing 737-400 converted freighter, had two pilots, two engineers, and one support staffer onboard.
According to flight-tracking data from Flightradar24, the aircraft exhibited erratic behavior in its final moments, including sharp altitude swings before a catastrophic dive. The plane lost about 5,000 feet in under a minute, then climbed 6,000 feet in 30 seconds before plunging from an altitude of 36,550 feet. The last recorded data point placed the aircraft at just 1,100 feet above sea level with a descent rate of minus 22,400 feet per minute.
The plane reported the navigation issue at 9:18 p.m. local time (1618 GMT) while about 155 nautical miles (287 km) west of Karachi. Air traffic controllers attempted to assist but lost contact three minutes later as radar showed the plane descending rapidly.
The Pakistan Airports Authority said a coordinated search operation involving multiple agencies is now underway at sea. K2 Airways confirmed it is cooperating with the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority and other government bodies. Boeing has not yet issued a statement.
The missing aircraft is a 737-400, two generations older than the 737 MAX. It was first delivered to Aeroflot as a passenger plane in 1999 and converted to a freighter in 2012. According to Flightradar24, it is K2 Airways’ only aircraft and had been in service with the carrier since 2024. Its last flight before the incident was on June 28.
If confirmed as a crash, this would be Pakistan’s first fatal aviation accident since 2020, when a Pakistan International Airlines Airbus A320 crashed short of the runway in Karachi, killing 97 people.
