A Boeing 737 freighter belonging to Pakistani carrier K2 Airways crashed into the Arabian Sea after disappearing from radar screens late Tuesday night. The aircraft was operating flight KTA1732 between the United Arab Emirates and Karachi, Pakistan, with five crew members on board. Airport authorities and regional emergency services have deployed an intensive operation to locate the wreckage.
Disappearance and Loss of Contact En Route to Karachi
The Pakistan Airports Authority reported that radar contact and radio communications were completely lost approximately 155 nautical miles (around 287 kilometers) west of Karachi, while the aircraft was overflying the sea en route to the southern part of the country.
Timeline of the Incident and Inflight Anomalies
According to official reports and preliminary tracking data, the event unfolded as follows:
- 21:18 local time: The crew reported a navigation system issue and received immediate assistance from the city’s Area Control Center (ACC).
- 21:21 local time: Just three minutes after the report, radar controllers observed the aircraft making a sharp heading change and beginning a rapid descent.
- System interference: Flight tracking platform Flightradar24 noted that, shortly after departure from Sharjah, this aircraft and others in the area experienced Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) interference, a situation that degraded the quality of initial tracking data.
- Irregular flight profile: Preliminary Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) data showed that the Boeing 737 recorded an initial loss of altitude, followed by a recovery or climb, before suffering a second and final sharp drop prior to signal loss.
Large-Scale Search and Rescue Operation
Following confirmation of the crash, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed his deep sorrow and grief over the tragic aviation accident, extending his condolences to the families of the five crew members.
The Pakistani leader has formally instructed the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority, the Navy, and the Air Force to intensify search and rescue operations in the waters of the Arabian Sea. The government directive mandates the deployment and utilization of all available regional logistical and technological resources to locate the fuselage and determine the exact causes that led to the loss of the aircraft.
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