Boeing 737 drops off radar above Arabian sea: Location still unknown

By Easton Martin | July 8, 2026

A massive search operation is underway in the Arabian Sea after a Boeing 737 cargo aircraft disappeared from radar screens on Tuesday night.​The aircraft, a 27-year-old Boeing 737-400 freighter operated by Pakistani carrier K2 Airways, was en route from Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates to Karachi when it encountered difficulties.

It was carrying five crew members, including two pilots, two engineers, and one support staff member. ​According to the Pakistan Airports Authority, the flight crew radioed air traffic controllers at 9:18 p.m. local time to report a malfunction with the aircraft’s navigational system.

The plane was positioned roughly 155 nautical miles west of Karachi at the time of the call. Air traffic controllers immediately began providing navigational guidance to assist the crew.​Just three minutes later, at 9:21 p.m., radar tracking showed the aircraft making a sharp heading change and entering a rapid descent.

Communication and radar contact were lost immediately afterward.​Preliminary flight tracking data from Flightradar24 revealed extreme altitude fluctuations during the flight’s final moments. The tracking service indicated that the aircraft initially dropped about 5,000 feet in less than a minute, briefly climbed roughly 6,000 feet within 30 seconds, and then entered a catastrophic plunge from an altitude of 36,550 feet.​

The final data point received placed the aircraft at an altitude of 1,100 feet above sea level, descending at a vertical speed of 22,400 feet per minute. Such a rapid loss of altitude is highly abnormal, as aircraft typically glide for a period even during total engine failure. ​

Early reports on Wednesday indicated that search teams located parts of the aircraft’s wreckage approximately 53 nautical miles south of the coastal town of Ormara. Rescue teams are focusing their efforts on locating the five missing crew members.