Pakistan: Cargo Plane with Five Onboard Loses Contact Over Arabian Sea

A K2 Airways Boeing 737 cargo plane carrying five crew members has gone missing after losing contact with air traffic control over Pakistan's Balochistan province. The aircraft was flying from Sharjah, United Arab Emirates, to Karachi when it reported a technical issue.

Pakistani aviation authorities confirmed that radar systems showed the aircraft descending rapidly before communication was lost. Preliminary data from the flight-tracking service Flightradar24.com indicated an initial loss of altitude, followed by a climb, and then a sudden, dramatic second descent. The last recorded data point placed the aircraft at 1,100 feet with an extremely steep and abnormal vertical rate of descent.

Search and rescue operations have been launched at sea, with a coordination center activated by the Pakistan Airport Authority. The missing aircraft, manufactured in 1999, was previously a passenger plane operated by Aeroflot and Garuda Indonesia before its conversion to cargo use in 2012. It is part of the older 737 family, distinct from the 737 Max models involved in recent safety crises.

K2 Airways, a private cargo airline, stated it is cooperating with Pakistani authorities and expressed prayers for the safety of its colleagues. This incident recalls the May 2020 crash of a Pakistani passenger plane in Karachi, which killed 98 people after an apparent engine failure during landing. That crash was attributed to human error by the pilot, co-pilot, and air traffic control.

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Anytime you see something extreme like that, it catches your eye, but it is too soon to say what any of it means without more information.