What triggered the plunge of K2 flight

A K2 Airways Boeing 737-400, operating as Flight 1732, crashed on July 7, killing all five crew members aboard. The aircraft was on a ferry flight from Sharjah to Karachi when, at 9:18 pm, the crew reported a navigation systems failure and requested heading guidance from air traffic control. The flight had undergone maintenance in Sharjah prior to its departure.

Just three minutes after the initial distress call, the aircraft began a catastrophic plunge, descending at a rate of 22,400 feet per minute, far exceeding normal glide capabilities. This rapid descent suggests a severe loss of control, leading to the fatal crash.

Investigators are examining several plausible causes for the sudden and extreme loss of control. The leading hypothesis points to a combination of Inertial Reference Unit (IRU) failure and spatial disorientation. An IRU malfunction can feed erroneous data to critical flight systems, potentially leading to confusion for the pilots. This, coupled with a breakdown in Crew Resource Management (CRM), is considered particularly dangerous, especially during night flights in adverse weather conditions.

Further complicating the scenario, over 20 aircraft reported GPS spoofing along the flight path. The flight path also passed near an active conflict zone where military activity had resumed, raising concerns about potential interference with civilian aviation. The investigation is ongoing, with findings from the official inquiry eagerly awaited.