Pakistan Navy and Pakistan Maritime Security Agency units recovered additional debris during the third day of the operation, but the main fuselage, flight recorders and crew had not been located. Strong winds, shifting currents and poor underwater visibility were complicating efforts around the crash zone.
The Boeing 737-400 freighter disappeared from radar on Tuesday night after its crew reported a navigation-system problem. Wreckage was found about 53 nautical miles, or 98 kilometres, south of Ormara on Pakistan’s Makran coast following a search lasting nearly 12 hours.
The missing crew were identified as Captain Muhammad Rizwan Idris, First Officer Faisal Jatoi, flight engineers Muhammad Hamid and Muhammad Arif Siddiqui, and aircraft loader Muhammad Taufiq Khan. Their families were awaiting information as authorities maintained search-and-rescue operations across the area.
Flight KTA1732 had departed Sharjah International Airport for Jinnah International Airport in Karachi on a journey normally lasting about two hours. Contact was lost at approximately 9.21pm local time, around 155 nautical miles west of Karachi.
Radar and flight-tracking data indicated a sudden sequence of altitude and heading changes during the aircraft’s final minutes. The freighter initially lost altitude, climbed again and then entered a steep descent before its tracking signal ended.
The aircraft’s descent rate reached about 22,400 feet per minute during the final recorded phase. Investigators have not determined whether the navigation difficulty reported by the crew was connected to the rapid loss of control.
Authorities have cautioned against drawing conclusions before the flight data recorder, cockpit voice recorder and substantial sections of wreckage are recovered. Mechanical failure, flight-control problems, weather, cargo loading and crew response are among the areas normally examined after a cargo-aircraft accident, but no cause has been established.
The search zone presents severe technical difficulties. Water depths in parts of the area range from approximately 2,500 metres to more than 3,500 metres, while the seabed contains uneven terrain. Those conditions could require specialised sonar, remotely operated underwater vehicles and deep-sea recovery equipment.
Surface debris can also drift far from the point of impact because of wind and currents, making it harder to define the underwater search area. Investigators are expected to combine radar records, aircraft communications, satellite tracking and debris distribution to narrow the probable location of the main wreckage.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif ordered national agencies to commit all available resources to the operation. Naval vessels, aircraft and maritime-security assets have been deployed, with commercial ships in the region also alerted to report possible wreckage.
K2 Airways said it was cooperating with aviation and maritime authorities. The Karachi-based private cargo operator began commercial services in December 2024 and used the crashed aircraft as its sole operational plane.
The aircraft, registered AP-BOI, was a 27-year-old Boeing 737-400 that had originally entered passenger service in 1999. It was later converted into a freighter before joining K2 Airways in 2024.
The plane had undergone maintenance work in Sharjah before the flight. Investigators are expected to examine its technical records, repairs, component history and dispatch documentation, alongside the cargo manifest and weight-and-balance calculations.
The Boeing 737-400 belongs to an earlier generation of the 737 family and is not part of the 737 Max series. Hundreds of ageing passenger aircraft have been converted into freighters to serve expanding regional air-cargo networks, particularly on short routes linking Gulf logistics centres with South and Central Asia.
Such conversions extend an aircraft’s commercial life, but operators must follow inspection programmes covering structural fatigue, engines, avionics and modified cargo systems. Maintenance oversight and access to spare parts are especially important for smaller airlines operating limited fleets.
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