KARACHI – The cargo flight from Sharjah to Karachi turned into growing mystery on Tuesday night when K2 Airways Boeing 737-400 suddenly lost contact with air traffic control. As search teams race to locate missing aircraft near Karachi, attention turned to five crew members on board, the professionals who were at the heart of the flight and are now the focus of hopes and prayers across the country.
K2 Airways identified five crew members aboard its missing Boeing 737-400 cargo aircraft as an extensive search and rescue operation continued after the plane vanished en route from Sharjah to Karachi.
The cargo aircraft lost contact with air traffic control at around 9:21pm PST due to some navigation system malfunction while approaching Karachi. The missing crew includes Captain Muhammad Rizwan Idris, who was serving as pilot in command, First Officer Faisal Mahmood, Loadmaster Muhammad Taufiq Khan, Engineer Arif Siddiqui, and Engineer Muhammad Hamid.
In a statement, K2 Airways released the names and photographs of the crew, saying it remained in close coordination with the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority and other government agencies involved in the ongoing search. The airline said it continued to pray for the safe recovery of its colleagues as rescue teams worked to determine the aircraft’s whereabouts.
The disappearance of the freighter has prompted a large-scale search operation involving multiple agencies. The Pakistan Navy, Pakistan Air Force and other authorities have been mobilised to search the suspected area after reports indicated the aircraft may have gone down in the Arabian Sea.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed grief over the incident and extended his sympathies to the families of the five crew members. He directed the Civil Aviation Authority, Pakistan Navy and Pakistan Air Force to intensify the search mission, instructing officials to deploy every available resource to locate the missing aircraft and those on board.
The Boeing 737-400, operated by Karachi-based private cargo carrier K2 Airways, had departed Sharjah for Karachi when it encountered difficulties during the final phase of its journey. According to the PCAA, the crew informed air traffic controllers of a navigation system problem shortly before all communication with the aircraft was lost.
Adding to the mystery, preliminary data from flight-tracking platform Flightradar24 indicates the aircraft experienced significant fluctuations in altitude before entering a steep descent moments before disappearing from radar, a sequence that is expected to form a key part of the investigation.
Founded in 2018, K2 Airways operates cargo services from Karachi. As uncertainty surrounds the fate of the aircraft, authorities continue their search while anxious family members await updates, hoping for a breakthrough in one of Pakistan’s most concerning aviation incidents in recent years.
Cargo Plane ‘crashes’ into Arabian Sea after Losing Contact near Karachi
