Pakistani cargo carrier K2 Airways states that five crew members are on board a Boeing 737-400 freighter which disappeared over the Arabian Sea during a service to Karachi.
The aircraft had departed Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates on 7 July but lost contact at 21:21 Pakistan local time.
Pakistan’s civil aviation authority says the crew “reported navigational system issue” at 21:18, and was in contact with Karachi area control centre.
However, the aircraft was then seen on radar displays to be “rapidly descending” with a “rapid heading change” and contact was lost at 21:21, with the jet 155nm west of Karachi.
The authority says search and rescue activities are under way to locate the missing aircraft.
K2 Airways says it was carrying two pilots, two engineers and a loadmaster.
“Search and rescue operations are being conducted by the concerned organisations,” it states.
Public flight-tracking data, yet to be verified, suggests the aircraft was cruising at 35,000ft, some 1h 20min after departure, when it deviated from its heading and lost altitude over the Arabian Sea.
The airline adds that it is “fully co-operating” with the Pakistan civil aviation authority and other agencies.
It identifies the missing twinjet as AP-BOI, a 1999 airframe formerly in service with Aeroflot and Garuda Indonesia before being converted to a freighter.
The company has not specified the nature of any cargo on board, and whether it included any hazardous goods.
K2 Airways is a relatively young carrier, having been established in 2018. The company says its first aircraft arrived in Karachi two years ago, in July 2024.
