A Pakistan-registered K2 Airways Boeing 737 cargo aircraft travelling from Sharjah to Karachi has gone missing after losing contact with air traffic control, prompting a large-scale search and rescue operation.
According to preliminary information, the aircraft reported a navigational system malfunction at 9:18pm PST, after which it was provided assistance by the Karachi Area Control Centre (ACC).
According to the authorities three minutes later, at 9:21pm PST, air traffic controllers observed the aircraft making a rapid descent accompanied by a sudden change in heading. Shortly afterwards, both radar and radio contact with the aircraft were lost.
The last known position of the aircraft was approximately 155 nautical miles west of Karachi.
Following the incident, the Rescue Coordination Centre (RCC) activated emergency response procedures and launched a coordinated search and rescue operation at sea in collaboration with multiple agencies to locate the missing aircraft.
A spokesperson for the Pakistan Airports Authority (PAA) confirmed the crash of a private company’s plane and said that contact was lost with the private cargo plane coming from Sharjah to Karachi.
According to the PAA spokesperson, the plane disappeared from radar about 155 nautical miles west of Karachi, and radar and communication links with the plane were lost simultaneously.
According to the spokesperson, there were 5 crew members on board the private cargo plane.
According to the flight general declaration, the pilot of the plane is Muhammad Rizwan Idrees, the first officer of the plane is Faisal Mahmood Jatoi, and the load master is Muhammad Tawfiq Khan.
According to the flight general declaration, aircraft engineer Muhammad Hamid and aircraft engineer Muhammad Arif Siddiqui were on board.
The PAA spokesperson said that after the incident, the Rescue Coordination Center was immediately activated, and a search and rescue operation has been launched at sea to search for the missing cargo plane. Various agencies are participating in the search and rescue operation.
Sources say that the missing plane went to Sharjah for repairs after a technical fault. The plane was in Sharjah for 5 days. The plane was returning to Karachi on a ferry flight (empty plane).
According to sources, the plane was repaired in Sharjah by a company called Northern Techniques, which is said to be owned by a former Pakistani aviation consultant.
The Pakistan Navy, Pakistan Air Force and other agencies have launched a coordinated search and rescue operation, with naval vessels, aircraft and a merchant ship deployed to locate the missing aircraft.
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