Cargo Plane From UAE Vanishes Off Karachi Coast, Search Underway

A cargo plane with 5 crew members went missing off the coast near Karachi late Tuesday night. The aircraft was a Boeing 737, operated by K2 Airways, a private Karachi-based cargo airline established in May 2018, flying a cargo route from Sharjah, UAE, to Karachi.

Timeline of the incident:

•    9:18 PM local time — The crew reported a navigation system problem to air traffic control
•    9:21 PM — Radar data showed the aircraft rapidly descending and making a sharp change in heading
•    Shortly after, radar and radio contact were lost roughly 155 nautical miles (287 km) west of Karachi, over the Arabian Sea

Response underway:

•    Pakistan's Rescue Coordination Center has been activated
•    The Pakistan Navy frigate PNS Zulfiqar was diverted to the last known contact area
•    The Pakistan Air Force deployed aircraft to assist
•    A Pakistan Navy ATR aircraft took off from Turbat to join the search
•    A merchant vessel from the Pakistan National Shipping Corp. has also joined the operation

What's unclear: Aviation expert Imran Aslam noted that the abrupt descent is puzzling — even with engine failure, a plane would typically glide rather than drop suddenly, so the cause of the disappearance remains unknown at this stage.