RAWALPINDI (MNN); A K2 Airways Boeing 737-400 cargo aircraft carrying five crew members disappeared from radar and lost radio contact over the Arabian Sea while flying from Sharjah to Karachi, prompting a large-scale search and rescue operation involving Pakistan’s military and civil aviation authorities.
According to the Pakistan Airports Authority (PAA), the aircraft reported a malfunction in its navigation system at around 9:18pm while approaching Pakistani airspace. The Karachi Area Control Centre (ACC) immediately guided the crew after receiving the distress report.
However, within minutes, the aircraft made a sudden change in heading and began a rapid descent before disappearing from radar approximately 155 nautical miles (about 287 kilometres) west of Karachi. Communication with the aircraft was lost simultaneously.
Flight-tracking service FlightRadar reported that preliminary ADS-B data showed the aircraft first losing altitude, briefly climbing, and then entering a second steep descent. The final recorded position placed the aircraft at an altitude of 1,100 feet above mean sea level, descending at an estimated 22,400 feet per minute, before all transmissions ceased.
The missing aircraft, registered AP-BOI, was operating as cargo flight TA1732 from Sharjah to Karachi. Data indicated that it had been cruising normally at 35,000 feet and a speed of approximately 790 kilometres per hour before unexpectedly making a U-turn and rapidly losing nearly 34,000 feet of altitude within five minutes.
Following the incident, the PAA activated the Rescue Coordination Centre, launching an extensive search and rescue mission in the Arabian Sea.
Aviation sources said the aircraft disappeared near the Ormara coastline in Balochistan. The Pakistan Navy has deployed the warship PNS Zulfiqar, while the Pakistan Air Force dispatched a Saab surveillance aircraft to assist in the operation. A Navy ATR aircraft also joined the aerial search from Turbat.
Commercial vessels of the Pakistan National Shipping Corporation have also been mobilised, bringing together military and civilian resources in an effort to locate the aircraft and its crew.
Officials said no wreckage or signs of the missing aircraft had been found until the filing of this report.
The Bureau of Air Safety Investigation has launched an inquiry to determine the cause of the incident.
According to FlightRadar, the 27-year-old Boeing 737-400 was originally delivered to Aeroflot as a passenger aircraft in 1999 before serving with Garuda Indonesia. It was converted into a freighter in 2012, later operated by TNT Airways and ASL Airlines, and entered service with Karachi-based K2 Airways in 2024.