A K2 Airways Boeing 737 cargo plane carrying five crew members went missing off the coast of Karachi, Pakistan, on Tuesday night, July 7, 2026, after losing contact with air traffic control.
The aircraft was flying from Sharjah International Airport in the United Arab Emirates to Jinnah International Airport when the crew reported a navigational system issue to the Karachi Area Control Center.
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Radar data showed the plane descending rapidly and changing headings before communication ceased west of Karachi.
Flightradar24 tracking indicated a loss of altitude, a temporary climb, and a final descent at 22,400 feet per minute, ending at an altitude of 1,100 feet.
Search and Rescue Efforts
The Pakistan Airports Authority stated that the Rescue Coordination Centre was activated and a coordinated search and rescue operation at sea was launched through various agencies.
K2 Airways confirmed the identities of the crew members: Captain Muhammad Rizwan, first officer Faisal Mahmood, loadmaster Muhammad Toufiq Khan, engineer Arif Siddiqui, and Muhammad Hamid.
“We continue to pray, earnestly, for the safety of our colleagues,” the airline said in a statement.
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The airline is working closely with domestic flight regulators and emergency response groups during the investigation.
Aviation expert Imran Aslam expressed confusion over the sudden loss of radar contact, noting that mechanical issues typically do not cause such a drastic plunge.
“I still cannot understand how the plane went down so abruptly instead of gliding,” he told local ARY News.
Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed “deep grief” and “heartfelt sympathy” to the families of the five crew members in a statement on Wednesday.
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The incident marks the first major aviation crisis in the country since a 2020 commercial crash near Karachi that killed 98 people.
