Islamabad (TDI): A K2 Airways Boeing 737-400 cargo aircraft travelling from Sharjah to Karachi disappeared from radar over the Arabian Sea late Tuesday after reporting a navigation system problem, prompting a large-scale search and rescue operation.
According to the Pakistan Airports Authority (PAA), the aircraft, carrying five crew members, reported a navigational system malfunction at 9:18pm while approaching Pakistani airspace. The Karachi Area Control Centre (ACC) immediately provided guidance to the flight.
However, three minutes later, at 9:21pm, air traffic controllers observed the aircraft making a sharp change in direction while rapidly losing altitude before both radar contact and radio communication were lost approximately 287 kilometres west of Karachi.
Flight-tracking platform Flightradar24 said preliminary ADS-B data showed the aircraft first losing altitude, then briefly climbing before experiencing a second, sudden and severe descent.
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The final transmission received from the aircraft indicated it was flying at an altitude of about 1,100 feet above mean sea level with a reported descent rate of 22,400 feet per minute.
Flight-tracking data also suggested the aircraft encountered Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) interference shortly after departing Sharjah. Several other aircraft operating in the region reportedly experienced similar navigation disruptions.
According to Flightradar24, normal ADS-B tracking resumed after the aircraft left the area affected by GNSS interference.
Following the loss of contact, authorities activated the Rescue Coordination Centre and launched a coordinated search and rescue operation involving multiple civil and military agencies to locate the missing aircraft.
The Bureau of Air Safety Investigation has initiated an inquiry to determine the cause of the incident. The missing aircraft, registered as AP-BOI, is a Boeing 737-4M0(BDSF) freighter that joined K2 Airways in 2024.
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Originally delivered to Russia’s Aeroflot as a passenger aircraft in 1999, the plane later operated with Garuda Indonesia before being converted into a cargo aircraft in 2012. It subsequently flew for TNT Airways and ASL Airlines before entering service with the Karachi-based carrier.
K2 Airways is a private Pakistani airline established in 2018 after receiving an airline charter licence from the government.
