A massive search and rescue operation is underway following a K2 Airways cargo aircraft that vanished off the Arabian Sea with five crew members on board.
The incident occured on Tuesday, July 7, evening when the plane was en route from Sharjah International Airport (United Arab Emirates) to Jinnah International Airport (Pakistan). The aircraft lost contact with air traffic control at 9:21 pm (PKT).
The plane was approximately 155 nautical miles (287 kilometers) west of Karachi when it vanished over the Arabian Sea.
According to the Flightradar 24 tracing data, the flight experiences chaotic and dramatic altitude changes minutes before it vanished. Initially, it dropped around 5,000 ft in under a minute before abruptly climbing about 6,000 ft within just 30 seconds.
This disruptive pattern ended in a catastrophic vertical descent from an altitude of 36,550 ft. as per the final data, the plant was at only 1,100ft above sea level, descending at a staggering rate fo minus 22,400ft per minute. This is equivalent to roughly 250 miles per hour, which is considered as an abnormal steep dive that points to a critical loss of control.
The aircraft reported a navigation system problem at 9:18 PM, just three minutes before losing contact. Air traffic controllers tried to guide the plane, but communication was lost soon.
There were five crew members onboard, including Mohammad Rizwan Idrees, Faisal Mehmood, Muhammad Toufique Khan, Arif Siddiqui, and Mohammad Hamid. The crew consisted of two pilots, two engineers, and one support staff member.
The missing aircraft belonged to K2 Airways, which is a private cargo airline founded in 2018. This was the airline’s only plane and had entered service with the carrier in 2024.
It is a 27-year-old Boeing 737-400 converted freighter, which was delivered to Russia’s Aeroflot in its passenger version back in 1999 and converted to the cargo version in 2012. It is equipped with the CFM International engines, a joint venture between GE Aerospace and Safran, and last flew on June 28, 2026.
2026-07-08 17:56:00
