Pakistan cargo jet vanishes over Arabian Sea after steep descent

A Boeing 737 cargo jet carrying five crew members plunged almost vertically over the Arabian Sea and vanished after its crew reported a navigation system problem, setting off a sea-and-air search off Karachi. The aircraft was operated by Karachi-based K2 Airways on a cargo flight from Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates to Karachi.

Pakistan’s airport authority logged the crew report at 9:18 p.m. local time on Tuesday, July 7, 2026. Radar data then showed the plane rapidly descending and making a sharp change in heading around 9:21 p.m. before radar and radio contact were lost about 155 nautical miles, or 287 kilometers, west of Karachi.

Preliminary flight-tracking data showed the aircraft lost altitude, briefly climbed, then dropped again in a sudden descent; the last recorded point placed it about 1,100 feet above mean sea level with a reported vertical rate of minus 22,400 feet per minute.

Authorities activated the Pakistan Airports Authority’s Rescue Coordination Center and launched search-and-rescue operations by sea and air. The Pakistan Air Force and Pakistan Navy joined the effort, with the frigate PNS Zulfiqar diverted to the area where contact was lost. An ATR aircraft from Turbat, civilian authorities and a Pakistan National Shipping Corporation vessel were also sent into the search zone.

K2 Airways is fully cooperating with the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority and other government agencies. Pakistan’s May 2020 Pakistan International Airlines crash in Karachi killed 97 passengers and two crew members. Aviation expert Imran Aslam: the cause of the disappearance remained unclear, and even a total engine failure would normally not send an aircraft into a sudden plunge rather than a glide.