A Boeing 737 cargo plane operated by Pakistan-registered K2 Airways disappeared from radar while flying from Sharjah, United Arab Emirates, to Karachi after the pilot reported a navigation system problem. The signal was lost over the sea. Pakistani authorities quickly deployed navy, air force, and rescue units to search, with five crew members on board.
The Boeing 737-400 cargo plane of K2 Airways lost contact with air traffic control on the evening of Tuesday, 8 July local time, while flying from Sharjah, United Arab Emirates, to Karachi, Pakistan.
Pakistan's Civil Aviation Authority reported that at 21:18 local time, the pilot notified controllers of a navigation system failure when the plane was about 155 nautical miles (approximately 287 kilometers) west of Karachi. Controllers attempted to guide the plane back on course, but three minutes later, radar showed a rapid descent before contact was lost at 21:21.
Preliminary data from the flight tracking website Flightradar24 showed abnormal altitude changes in the final minutes: a drop of about 5,000 feet in less than a minute, followed by a climb of over 6,000 feet within 30 seconds, then a sharp dive from approximately 36,550 feet.
The last signal indicated the plane was at only 1,100 feet above sea level, descending at 22,400 feet per minute (about 400 kilometers per hour). Aviation safety experts noted this was an extremely unusual descent rate, though it is too early to determine the cause.
After the incident, Pakistani authorities mobilized multiple agencies, including the navy, air force, and search and rescue teams, to operate in the sea southwest of Karachi, the suspected crash area. K2 Airways stated it is fully cooperating with Pakistan's Civil Aviation Authority and related agencies, releasing the names of all five crew members and expressing hope for their safety.
The aircraft involved is a 27-year-old Boeing 737-400, originally delivered to Russia's Aeroflot as a passenger plane before being converted to cargo use in 2012. It joined K2 Airways in 2024 and is the airline's only plane.
If fatalities are confirmed, this will be Pakistan's first deadly air accident since 2020, when a Pakistan International Airlines passenger jet crashed on landing at Karachi airport, killing 97 people.