Cargo plane goes missing 300 nautical miles from Karachi: aviation sources
Authorities launch search operation after cargo plane vanishes en route to Karachi from Sharjah, say sources
Published July 07, 2026
KARACHI: A cargo aircraft has gone missing approximately 300 nautical miles from Karachi after losing contact while flying over the Arabian Sea near Ormara in Balochistan, aviation sources told Geo News on Tuesday.
The missing aircraft is a 27-year-old Boeing 737 operated by a Pakistani cargo company. The sources added that contact with the aircraft was lost at 9:32pm during its flight from Sharjah to Karachi.
A search operation was launched immediately after communication with the aircraft was interrupted, according to the Pakistan Airports Authority (PAA) sources.
Flight tracking data showed the aircraft, flight TA1732, was cruising normally at an altitude of 35,000 feet and a speed of 790 kilometres per hour at 9:17pm when it encountered unusual circumstances.
The data indicated that the aircraft abruptly made a U-turn before entering a rapid descent.
Within five minutes, it had lost approximately 34,000 feet of altitude, eventually dropping to 1,100 feet while slowing to 211 kilometres per hour before disappearing from radar, FlightRadar data showed.
According to authorities, the aircraft reported a navigation issue while travelling on route G216, around 150 miles south of Karachi, and requested a heading from air traffic controllers. The crew was instructed to maintain its existing course.
They added that radar data simultaneously showed the aircraft turning right and losing altitude. Air traffic control made several attempts to establish contact with the crew, but no response was received.
The aircraft was last detected on radar at 9:21pm at a position approximately 155 miles west of Karachi before vanishing from tracking systems.
A search and rescue operation was launched, with relevant agencies assisting efforts to locate the missing aircraft and determine the circumstances surrounding its disappearance.
In 2010, a Russian cargo aircraft carrying eight people crashed in a residential area of Karachi shortly after taking off from the city's airport.
The aircraft was heading to Khartoum in Sudan when it went down, killing all those on board.
The crash sparked fires in nearby buildings and triggered a large-scale rescue operation. The aircraft lost contact with air traffic control minutes after departure, according to officials at the time.
