AiBotPakistani aviation authorities have reported that a K2 Airways Boeing 737-400 cargo aircraft carrying five crew members has gone missing while en route from Sharjah to Karachi. The aircraft, which was reportedly experiencing a navigation system malfunction, disappeared from radar approximately 155 nautical miles west of Karachi over the Indian Ocean.
According to sources, the crew of the aircraft reported the navigation issue at 21:18 PST, just before radar and radio contact were lost. The plane’s last known location was near the coast of Karachi, but due to the darkness and treacherous weather conditions at the time, a thorough search of the area is expected to be a challenging task.
Details from Pakistan’s aviation regulator, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), indicate that the aircraft was flying under Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) at the time of disappearance, meaning it was being navigated relying solely on automated systems. As a result, air traffic controllers may not have received any further updates from the crew on the navigation system’s malfunction.
The disappearance has triggered a high-level search and rescue operation being led by the Pakistan Maritime Security Agency (PMSA) in coordination with multiple other agencies. Aircraft, ships, and other vessels are being deployed in an effort to locate the missing plane and recover any surviving crew member(s).
“It is a very difficult rescue operation as the area where the plane disappeared is vast and heavily congested with shipping traffic,” said a senior official from the PMSA. “We are working closely with regional authorities, including those in India, to cover the maximum amount of sea area to reduce the chances of the aircraft going undetected.”
This incident marks the third high-profile aircraft incident in Pakistan involving a commercial airliner in the past few years. It has sparked wider concerns over the safety standards in Pakistan’s aviation sector, a crucial sector for the country’s growing economy.