Pakistan: Private Cargo Plane from Sharjah Goes Missing Near Karachi, Search and Rescue Underway

KARACHI — Muhammad Saleem The Pakistan Airport Authority (PAA) has confirmed that a private cargo aircraft flying from Sharjah, UAE, to Karachi went missing mid-flight, triggering a maritime search and rescue operation.
According to PAA, the aircraft — a K2 Airways Boeing 737-400, flight KTA1732, registration AP-BOI — was on a ferry flight (carrying no cargo) returning to Karachi after undergoing repairs abroad.
Officials said that at 9:18 PM local time, while flying along air route G216 approximately 150 nautical miles south of Karachi, the crew reported a navigation system fault and requested heading guidance. The plane was instructed to maintain its current course. Shortly after, it was observed turning right and descending rapidly, losing altitude at a rate of roughly 15,000 feet per minute. Repeated attempts to reestablish contact failed, and at 9:21 PM, approximately 155 nautical miles west of Karachi, the aircraft disappeared from radar with simultaneous loss of both radar and communication contact.
Five crew members were on board: pilot Muhammad Rizwan Idrees, first officer Faisal Mahmood Jatoi, loadmaster Muhammad Taufeeq Khan, and two aircraft engineers, Muhammad Hamid and Muhammad Arif Siddiqui.
Sources say the aircraft had spent five days in Sharjah undergoing repairs for a technical fault, carried out by a company called “Northern Techniques,” reportedly linked to a former aviation advisor to the Pakistani government.
The PAA activated its Rescue Coordination Center immediately after losing contact, and a multi-agency search and rescue operation is currently underway at sea.