Islamabad: Pakistani authorities have launched a major search operation after a Boeing 737-400 cargo aircraft carrying five crew members went missing over the Arabian Sea while flying from Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates to Karachi.
The Karachi-bound aircraft, operated by private cargo carrier K2 Airways, departed Sharjah on Tuesday and lost contact with air traffic control at around 9.18 p.m. local time after reporting a fault in its navigation system, according to the Pakistan Airports Authority.
Flight tracking data indicated the aircraft experienced dramatic altitude fluctuations shortly before contact was lost. The Boeing 737-400 descended nearly 1,525 metres (5,000 feet) in less than a minute before climbing approximately 1,830 metres (6,000 feet) within the next 30 seconds. It then entered a steep final descent from an altitude of about 11,140 metres (36,550 feet).
The aircraft's final transmitted position placed it at an altitude of just 335 metres (1,100 feet), descending at approximately 22,400 feet per minute, or nearly 400 kmph. Contact was lost around 155 nautical miles (287 km) west of Karachi.
A large-scale search and rescue operation is underway in the Arabian Sea. According to security sources, the operation involves a Pakistan Navy vessel, a merchant ship operated by the Pakistan National Shipping Corporation and two naval aircraft.
Authorities have not yet located the aircraft, and no wreckage or survivors have been found.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, K2 Airways said it was fully cooperating with investigators and rescue authorities while expressing hope for the safety of its crew members.
"We continue to pray earnestly for the safety of our colleagues," the airline said.
The missing aircraft is the only aircraft in K2 Airways' fleet.
If the aircraft is confirmed to have crashed, it would be Pakistan's first major civilian aviation disaster since May 2020, when a Pakistan International Airlines passenger jet crashed near Karachi while attempting to land, killing 97 of the 99 people on board.
The Boeing 737-400 involved in the incident has a long operational history spanning more than two decades. Delivered to Russia's Aeroflot in 1999 as a passenger aircraft, it later served Indonesia's Garuda Indonesia before being converted into a freighter for Belgium's TNT Airways in 2012.
Flight records show the aircraft was withdrawn from service in June 2023 and remained parked in France for nearly 10 months. It was reactivated by Irish leasing company AerCap in April 2024 before being placed into storage again, first in Jakarta and later in Karachi, where it remained for almost six months before joining K2 Airways in December 2024.
Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed grief over the disappearance of the aircraft and extended his sympathies to the families of the five missing crew members.