Pakistani Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif has expressed deep grief and sorrow over the tragic incident involving a private cargo aircraft en route from Sharjah to Karachi, which went missing after crashing into the Arabian Sea, according to a statement by his office.
Sharif extended his heartfelt sympathies to the families of the five crew members on board the aircraft.
He directed Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority, Pakistan Navy and Pakistan Air Force to intensify search and rescue operations in the Arabian Sea and utilise all available resources.
According to preliminary data shared by flight tracker, FL360aero, the plane first indicated a drop in altitude, followed by a climb, then a sharp drop in altitude, before disappearing from radar entirely. Here’s a look at what data suggests happened to the K2 Airways plane:
- At 9:18pm 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 aircraft 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 did not bring any success
- At 9:21pm, approximately 155 nautical miles west of Karachi, the aircraft disappeared from radar with simultaneous loss of both radar and communication contact.
The company operating the aircraft, K2 Airways, revealed the identities of its five crew members:
- Mohammad Rizwan Idrees (Pilot in Command)
- Faisal Mehmood (First Officer)
- Muhammad Toufique Khan (Load Master)
- Arif Siddiqui (Engineer)
- Mohammad Hamid (Engineer)
