Search underway for missing K2 Airways cargo plane off Karachi coast with 5 crew members: PAA

The Pakistan Airports Authority (PAA) said late on Tuesday night that a search and rescue operation was underway after an aircraft of K2 Airways with five crew members aboard was reported missing off the coast of Karachi.

In a series of posts on X, the PAA said a K2 Airways Boeing 737 cargo flight was en route from Sharjah to Karachi at 2118 PST when it reported a navigational system issue and was promptly guided by the Karachi Area Control Centre.

"However, at time 2121 PST, aircraft was observed on radar rapidly descending and with rapid heading change, subsequently radar contact and communication was lost approximately 155 nautical miles west of Karachi," the PAA said.

It added that a rescue coordination centre was activated and a coordinated search and rescue operation was launched at sea through various agencies to locate the missing aircraft, which had five crew members on board.

According to officials, the causes of the accident will be determined after the investigation.

A statement from sources said the Pakistan Navy's warship PNS Zulfiqar was dispatched to the affected area in the ongoing search and rescue operation. It added that a Pakistan Air Force SAAB plane and a Pakistan Navy ATR plane had also taken off to join the search operation.

The statement said that Pakistan National Shipping Corporation's commercial ship Lahore was also deployed for the search and rescue operation.

Flight-tracking service Flightradar said that preliminary ADS-B data "indicate a possible crash".

According to the flight tracker, the craft named AP-BOI is a Boeing 737-4M0(BDSF), which began service with K2 Airways in 2024.

"It began flying as a passenger aircraft, originally with Aeroflot in 1999, then with Garuda Indonesia in 2004. In 2012, the aircraft was converted to a freighter and operated by TNT Airways, then ASL Airlines," it said.