KARACHI: Pakistani aviation authorities have launched a search operation after a cargo plane carrying five crew members went missing off the coast of Karachi late Tuesday while approaching the country’s busiest airport.
According to the Pakistan Airports Authority (PAA), the Boeing 737 lost contact with air traffic controllers at 9:21 pm local time (1621 GMT) after reporting a navigation system problem. The aircraft had departed from Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates and was en route to Karachi.
In a series of posts on X, the PAA said the cargo flight, operating from Sharjah to Karachi, reported a navigational system issue at 21:18 Pakistan Standard Time (PST) and was promptly guided by the Karachi Area Control Centre (ACC).
K2 Airways B 737 of Pakistan Cargo Flight enroute from Sharjah to Karachi at time 2118PST reported Navigational system issue and was promptly guided by KARACHI ACC.
— Pakistan Airports Authority (@Pk_PAA_Official) July 7, 2026
However, at 21:21 PST, the aircraft was observed on radar making a rapid descent and a sharp heading change before contact was lost approximately 155 nautical miles west of Karachi.
However; at time 2121PST aircraft was observed on RADAR rapidly descending and with rapid heading change, subsequently RADAR contact and communication was lost approximately 155 NM west of Karachi.
— Pakistan Airports Authority (@Pk_PAA_Official) July 7, 2026
Search Operation Continues
The missing aircraft was operated by Karachi-based private cargo carrier K2 Airways.
The PAA said the Rescue Coordination Centre was immediately activated following the incident, and a coordinated search and rescue operation at sea was launched through multiple agencies to locate the missing aircraft.
Following the occurrence RESCUE COORD CENTRE has been activated and coordinated Search & Rescue launched at sea through various agencies to locate the missing aircraft.
There were five crew members onboard the aircraft.
— Pakistan Airports Authority (@Pk_PAA_Official) July 7, 2026
According to the authority, there were five crew members on board the aircraft.
Officials said the cause of the incident would be determined after an investigation.
According to official sources, the Pakistan Navy dispatched warship PNS Zulfiqar to the area where the aircraft is believed to have gone missing.
The sources said a Pakistan Air Force SAAB aircraft departed from Bolhari to assist in the search operation, while a Pakistan Navy ATR aircraft took off from Turbat and joined the mission.
They added that the Pakistan National Shipping Corporation’s commercial vessel Lahore had also been deployed to support the search and rescue effort.
Flight-tracking service Flightradar24 said preliminary Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) data “indicate a possible crash”.
K2 Airways #KTA1732 is reportedly missing. Preliminary ADS-B data indicate a possible crash in the sea southwest of Karachi. https://t.co/IIMDHaGTAy pic.twitter.com/KbyI5kKmh1
— Flightradar24 (@flightradar24) July 7, 2026
According to the flight-tracking service, the aircraft, registered as AP-BOI, is a Boeing 737-4M0(BDSF) freighter that entered service with K2 Airways in 2024.
Flightradar24 said the aircraft originally entered service as a passenger jet with Russia’s Aeroflot in 1999 before joining Indonesia’s Garuda Indonesia in 2004. It was converted into a freighter in 2012 and later operated by TNT Airways and ASL Airlines before joining the Pakistani cargo carrier.
Pakistan’s Recent Aviation History
The disappearance marks the latest aviation emergency in Pakistan since the country’s last major air disaster in May 2020, when a Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) passenger aircraft crashed while attempting to land at Karachi’s Jinnah International Airport, killing 97 of the 99 people on board.
Authorities have not yet disclosed the cause of the incident, and the search operation remains ongoing.
