A major search operation is underway after a Boeing 737 cargo plane disappeared from radar off the coast of Pakistan following a rapid descent during a flight from the United Arab Emirates.

The Karachi-bound aircraft, operated by K2 Airways, lost contact with air traffic control on Tuesday after reporting problems with its navigation system. Flight tracking data showed the plane descending sharply before all communication stopped, leaving authorities racing to locate the aircraft and its five crew members.

The pilot's final transmission has added to the mystery after reporting the aircraft was "rolling or floating" shortly before it vanished. Pakistan's airport authority said the aircraft experienced navigation system interference before radar recorded a sudden loss of altitude.

Plane lost contact minutes before disappearing

Pakistan's Airport Authority said the K2 Airways flight departed from Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates and was heading to Karachi when the crew reported technical problems.

“K2 Airways B 737 of Pakistan Cargo Flight enroute from Sharjah to Karachi reported Navigational system issue and was promptly guided by KARACHI ACC,” Pakistan’s Airport Authority said in a statement.

Just three minutes later, radar systems detected what officials described as a "sudden and dramatic loss of altitude" before contact with the aircraft was completely lost.

The last transmitted data placed the Boeing 737 about 155 nautical miles west of Karachi over the Arabian Sea.

Flight tracking data showed the aircraft dropping about 5,000 feet in less than a minute before entering a catastrophic dive from 36,550 feet at a reported speed of 240 mph.

Search operation continues as experts question rapid descent

Pakistan has launched a large-scale search effort involving both the navy and air force.

The Pakistan Navy frigate PNS Zulfiqar was diverted to the area where the aircraft was last detected as crews searched for any sign of the missing cargo jet.

The aircraft's sudden descent has left aviation experts searching for answers.

Imran Aslam told ARY News: “I still cannot understand how the plane went down so abruptly instead of gliding.”

According to local media, one aviation specialist said the aircraft's rapid descent does not match the pattern typically seen during an engine failure.

Airline identifies crew members

K2 Airways, a private cargo airline based in Karachi, confirmed the identities of the five crew members on board in a statement released Wednesday.

The airline said it was “fully cooperating with the Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority and other government agencies”.

“We continue to pray, earnestly, for the safety of our colleagues,” the statement said.

The Boeing 737 is the only aircraft operated by K2 Airways and entered service with the airline in 2024.

If fatalities are confirmed, it would be Pakistan's first fatal air crash since 2020, when a passenger jet crashed into a residential neighborhood near Karachi Airport. Government investigators later concluded that accident was caused by human error after determining the pilots had been distracted discussing the COVID pandemic before a failed landing attempt.

Featured image credit: Richard Newstead / Getty

Over 12 years ago, Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 vanished on its planned route from Kuala Lumpur to the Chinese capital of Beijing.

The Boeing 777 had 227 passengers and 12 crew members onboard, all of whom have been presumed dead since the aircraft disappeared on March 8, 2014.

It still remains a mystery, as crew onboard didn't send any distress calls despite losing contact with air traffic control at 1:19AM over the South China Sea on that fateful day, before veering off-course and flying an an unknown path for seven hours before vanishing.

Underwater theory on MH370's disappearance

People continue to theorise about the airplane's disappearance and while many think that the truth can be uncovered through the discovery of its black box flight recorders, they remain missing.

But back in 2024, investigators believed that an underwater pressure monitor may help to find the wreckage of the lost aircraft.

Despite it still remaining unconfirmed, the Malaysian government claimed that the flight had "ended in the Southern Indian Ocean."

Hundreds of pieces of underwater audio data were analysed by researchers at Cardiff University from previous aircraft accidents and a submarine disappearance, finding that an underwater signal could have been caused by the impact of the Boeing plane hitting the waves when crashing.

How hydrophones could be used to detect MH370

Dr. Usama Kadri, a mathematician and engineer, claimed that a network of hydrophones, which have been used to keep tabs on pressure changes in the ocean as part of a nuclear explosion detection system, could be the key.

After he and his team went through large volumes of data from the time the aircraft was said to have disappeared, the doctor discovered an unidentified event in an area called the Seventh Arc.

Speaking to The Conversation, Dr. Kadri explained: "A 200-tonne aircraft crashing at a speed of 200 metres per second would release the kinetic energy equivalent to a small earthquake. It would be large enough to be recorded by hydrophones thousands of kilometres away.

"Given the sensitivity of the hydrophones, it’s highly unlikely that a large aircraft impacting the ocean surface wouldn’t leave a detectable pressure signature, particularly on nearby hydrophones."

He noted that "unfavourable" ocean conditions could still affect a signal this large though.

The engineer believed that the search would have to be approached with this method to see if these signals were linked to the missing plane, as researchers suggested that a number of controlled underwater explosions be carried out so search teams can finally find the elusive wreckage.

Over the years, many theories have been put forward, whether it be a possible hijacking or the near-impossible chance that the plane was flown into a 'black hole'.

Latest searches for MH370

Ocean Infinity, a UK-based marine robotics firm, carried out searches for the airplane in both March 25–28 last year and in December 31 to January 23 this year.

Unfortunately, no wreckage was found apart from numerous pieces of marine debris.

The firm splashed $67.2 million on advanced technology and resources, with the search taking place over 7,571 square kilometers on the seabed of the Indian Ocean.

They carried the search out on a no-find, no-fee basis, as Malaysia's Transport Minister, Anthony Loke, had claimed they would have been awarded $70 million if they found the missing aircraft.

Ocean Infinity said in a statement this year: “The search activities undertaken have not yielded any findings that confirm the location of the aircraft wreckage.

“The government pays nothing unless the aircraft is found. Any request by Ocean Infinity to extend the search contract should therefore be granted without hesitation,” they added.

The firm then urged the government to offer the same deal to other "capable deep sea exploration companies.”

Featured image credit: How Foo Yeen/Getty Images

No survivors have been found following the Boeing 737 plane crash in southern China, AP News reports.

The aircraft was carrying 132 people when it plummeted into hills in the Guangxi province and burst into a ball of flames yesterday.

Rescuers continue to search the wreckage, but China's state broadcaster reports that there is no sign of anyone having survived the hellish crash.

Meanwhile, relatives have gathered at Baiyun Airport in Guangzhou, waiting anxiously to hear any news of their lost family members.

The cause of the crash remains a mystery. Witnesses describe how the Boeing 737-800 dropped out of the sky shortly before it began its descent to Guangzhou airport, falling 30,000 ft in two minutes before exploding on impact.

Chen Weihao - who saw the plane fall out of the sky - told Xinhua News Agency that it hit a gap in the mountainside where nobody lived, leaving behind a deep pit.

"The plane looked to be in one piece when it nosedived. Within seconds, it crashed," they said.

Rescuers continue to search for the plane's black boxes, which hold the flight data and cockpit voice recorders essential to understanding why the aircraft went down. The search is being conducted using a combination of drones and manual search. A base of operations has also been set up near the crash site for rescue vehicles, ambulances, and emergency power supply trucks, while soldiers and rescue workers search through the dense vegetation for survivors or remains.

China's Transport Ministry reports that China Eastern has grounded their entire Boeing 737-800 fleet. The airline has over 600 planes, 109 of which are the Boeing 737-800 model. Domestic travel in China is expected to be severely disrupted in the immediate future.

China Eastern Boeing 737-800. Credit: Panther Media GmbH / Alamy

The crash is one of the worst in China's history. BBC News reports that there has not been a major incident with a Chinese airline for 12 years. It was then that a flight from Harbin crashed in Yichun in August 2010. Forty-two people died in the incident.

Our thoughts are with the family and loved ones of all of those onboard.

Featured Image Credit: Sergio Azenha / Alamy

The first remains of the victims of the Boeing 737 plane crash in China have been found, along with one of the jet's black boxes.

On Monday, a passenger plane carrying more than 130 people crashed into the mountains of China's rural Guangxi region after plunging more than 20,000ft. It later emerged that there were no survivors.

Now, as reported by The Guardian, the recovery mission has found the first human remains at the crash site.

Over 300 rescue workers are still searching the crash site in a remote area near Wuzhou in Teng County, Guangxi province. The search had been paused briefly on Wednesday due to poor weather conditions, but it was revealed in a later briefing that some human remains had been found.

One of the black boxes recovered was said to be "badly damaged". The aircraft's other black box, which records flight data, is yet to be discovered, NBC News reports.

File photo - A China Eastern 737 plane. Credit: Panther Media GmbH/Alamy

According to Zhu Tao, an official at the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC), the storage units of the recovered black box had sustained damage but was "relatively complete" and was sent to a Beijing institute to be decoded.

Some personal details about the deceased passengers have been reported in Chinese state media. Speaking to a news outlet in China, a man who used the pseudonym Wang Baiyang shared that his 26-year-old sister, her husband and their infant daughter were aboard the plane and that it was actually their very first flight.

They were traveling to Guangazhou with the hope of seeking medical treatment for their child and had originally been set to leave on an earlier flight which was cancelled.

"For the past two days, I felt like I had a dream, and I always felt that when I woke up the next day, my sister would call me," he said, per The Guardian. "I didn’t think it was real at all, first my grandfather died, and then I heard the news of the flight, and I just froze there and tried to reach my sister through the phone."

"Who would have thought that just after they found a doctor who can cure the child’s disease, this disease will not have to be treated," said Wang. "Life-saving flights become fatal flights. It was their first and last flight."

Our thoughts continue to go out to all of those affected by this devastating tragedy...

Featured image credit: Sergio Azenha / Alamy

A missing plane has been found in Alaska, with all 10 passengers on board having died.The plane vanished near Nome, Alaska, on Thursday afternoon. Credit: Lea Scaddan/Getty ImagesThe Cessna Caravan had left Unalakleet at around 2.37PM on Thursday, heading for Nome, around 150 miles away.The aircraft, which was carrying nine passengers and one pilot, lost contact with officials less than an hour later.A search was immediately launched and authorities have now confirmed that the wreckage of the plane has been located.Coast Guard spokesperson Mike Salerno said that the plane was located by rescue crews searching the aircraft's last known location with helicopters, before lowering two swimmers down to investigate.The divers identified three bodies inside the plane, believing the seven others are inside the wreckage but inaccessible at this time due to the condition of the aircraft, according to the US Coast Guard Alaska.The USCG Alaska shared on X (formerly Twitter): "USCG has ended its search for the missing plane after the aircraft was located approx. 34 miles southeast of Nome. 3 individuals were found inside and reported to be deceased."The remaining 7 people are believed to be inside the aircraft but are currently inaccessible due to the condition of the plane. Our heartfelt condolences are with those affected by this tragic incident."It shared a photo of rescuers examining the wreckage, with the plane being seen crumpled after hitting the ice.Authorities are currently working to recover the wreckage from the sea ice before a storm is expected to hit the area over the weekend.Jim West, chief of the Nome Volunteer Fire Department, said on Friday (as cited by the New York Post: "The conditions out there are dynamic, so we’ve got to do it safely in the fastest way we can."Officials had earlier stated that the plane had experienced a "rapid loss" in elevation and speed at around 3.18PM on Thursday before it disappeared.US Coast Guard Lt. Cmdr. Benjamin McIntyre-Coble said on Friday, before the wreckage was found: "[It had] some kind of event which caused them to experience a rapid loss in elevation and a rapid loss in speed. What that event is, I can’t speculate to."The single-engine plane had been at maximum capacity when it disappeared over Alaska's Norton Sound, and about 12 miles off shore, according to the state Department of Public Safety.All of the passengers on board are known to be adults, but their identities have yet to be released.Wreckage being recovered from the Potomac River following the American Airlines crash in Washington D.C. Credit: Chip Somodevilla / GettyThe crash marks the third major US aviation tragedy in a week, following a crash between an American Airlines passenger jet carrying 64 people, which collided with a military Black Hawk helicopter that had three soldiers on board, killing all 67.Just two days later, an air ambulance carrying six people crashed in Philadelphia crashed into a busy neighborhood, killing everyone on board and one person on the ground.Our thoughts remain with all those affected by this latest tragedy.Featured image credit: US Coast Guard Alaska/Twitter/X