K2 Airways plane missing LIVE: Nearly 12 hours since Karachi-based plane went off radar after takeoff from UAE

K2 Airways plane missing LIVE: Pakistani authorities have launched a coordinated search-and-rescue operation involving multiple agencies to locate the missing cargo plane, the Pakistan Airports Authority said in a Facebook post.

K2 Airways said it is fully cooperating with the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority and other government agencies in the search efforts.

“We continue to pray, earnestly, for the safety of our colleagues,” the airline said in a statement posted on Facebook.

K2 Airways plane missing LIVE: The missing aircraft was a Boeing 737-400 freighter, part of Boeing’s long-running 737 family and two generations older than the 737 MAX aircraft involved in recent safety crises. It was powered by CFM International engines, manufactured through a joint venture between GE Aerospace and France’s Safran.

According to Flightradar24, the aircraft was first delivered as a passenger jet to Russia’s Aeroflot in 1999 before being converted into a cargo aircraft in 2012.

The Boeing 737-400 was K2 Airways’ only aircraft and entered service with the Pakistani carrier in 2024. Flight-tracking data from Flightradar24 showed it had not flown since June 28 before its final journey from Sharjah to Karachi.

K2 Airways plane missing LIVE: The K2 Airways cargo plane reported a navigational system issue at 9:18 pm Pakistan Standard Time (1618 GMT) while flying towards Karachi, the Pakistan Airports Authority said.

Air traffic controllers attempted to guide the aircraft, but radar showed it entering a rapid descent about three minutes later before communication was lost. At the time, the plane was around 155 nautical miles (287 km) west of Karachi, the authority said.

Flight-tracking service Flightradar24 reportedly showed the aircraft’s final moments were marked by erratic altitude changes.

The plane plunged nearly 5,000 feet in less than a minute, climbed about 6,000 feet within 30 seconds, and then entered a catastrophic dive from an altitude of 36,550 feet.

The last transmitted data point placed the aircraft at 1,100 feet above sea level with a vertical descent rate of minus 22,400 feet per minute – roughly 400 kmph – indicating an unusually steep and abnormal descent.

K2 Airways plane missing LIVE: Pakistan launched a search operation on Wednesday for a K2 Airways Boeing cargo plane that went missing off the coast of Karachi after radar data showed the aircraft was “rapidly descending,” the Pakistan Airports Authority said in a post on X.

The aircraft, carrying five crew members, was en route from Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates to Karachi when it lost contact with air traffic control on Tuesday evening after reporting a navigational system issue.

K2 Airways plane missing LIVE: K2 Airways said it is fully cooperating with the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority and other government agencies following the disappearance of its cargo aircraft.

(Reuters)