A Karachi-bound cargo aircraft operated by K2 Airways has gone missing over the Arabian Sea, sparking serious concern across Pakistan’s aviation sector.

The Boeing 737-400 freighter was flying from Sharjah to Karachi late on Tuesday night when it suddenly disappeared from tracking systems. According to reports, the jet lost connection with monitoring bases roughly 300 kilometres west of Karachi as it approached Pakistani airspace.

The captain had earlier reported a technical problem mid-flight and sought assistance from regional controllers. The Pakistan Airports Authority confirmed that five crew members were on board. Officials stated that the crew reported a tracking instrument failure at 9:18 pm while under the watch of Karachi Area Control Centre.

Just three minutes later, technical monitors observed the aircraft descending rapidly and executing an abrupt course change. By 9:21 pm, radar contact and communication were completely lost at a distance of nearly 287 kilometres west of Karachi.

Investigators revealed that the jet had encountered an operational anomaly with its Global Navigation Satellite System soon after departing Sharjah, which compromised tracking accuracy.

FlightRadar data indicated a highly unstable flight path, showing a loss of altitude, a climb, and then a sudden dramatic descent. The final transmission from the aircraft was logged at just 1,100 feet above mean sea level, with a reported vertical rate of minus 22,400 feet per minute, suggesting a catastrophic event.

The disappearance has once again highlighted Pakistan’s troubled aviation safety record. The incident has drawn comparisons with the May 2020 Pakistan International Airlines disaster, when a passenger jet carrying 98 people crashed into a residential colony near Karachi Airport during a failed landing attempt. That tragedy killed nearly all on board and prompted a government inquiry which exposed systemic negligence, concluding that human error by the pilots and air traffic controllers directly caused the crash.

The latest mishap involving K2 Airways underscores persistent vulnerabilities in Pakistan’s aviation sector. The sudden loss of a cargo aircraft carrying five crew members over the Arabian Sea raises urgent questions about technical oversight, safety protocols, and the reliability of navigation systems. Search and rescue operations are expected to intensify in the coming hours, but as of now, the fate of the missing freighter remains unknown.

ANI