Co-pilot's Family Describes Moment of Realization
The family of Faisal Jatoi, co-pilot of the crashed K2 Airways cargo plane, faced an agonizing wait for news on Thursday as search operations continued. Jatoi was piloting the Boeing 737 freighter from Sharjah, UAE, to Karachi on Tuesday night when it went down off Pakistan's southern coast. Rescuers found wreckage on Wednesday in a deep-sea search operation.
Jatoi's father-in-law, Ghulam Nabi Bahrani, said the family became alarmed when they could not reach him, and a Google search showed them the word "crash." "That moment felt like doomsday for us," Bahrani told Reuters at his home in Karachi. Jatoi leaves behind a wife and a two-year-old son.
Aircraft Had Recent Repairs
The aircraft, a 27-year-old Boeing 737-400 converted freighter, spent 10 days in Sharjah for repairs after delivering cargo, awaiting a spare part from the United States before the crew could return, Bahrani said. It reported a navigational problem at 9:18 pm on its way to Karachi, according to the Pakistan Airports Authority. Flightradar24 data showed erratic altitude changes before a steep descent.
Search and Recovery Efforts
Wreckage was found 53 nautical miles (98 km) south of Ormara port on Wednesday. Navy and maritime security teams are searching for the flight recorders. K2 Airways said the five people on board were two pilots, two engineers, and one support staffer. Their status has not been officially declared.
A Pakistani aviation expert, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the recovery could be among the most difficult in the country's recent history, with water depths in parts of the Arabian Sea ranging from about 2,500 to more than 3,500 meters. Strong currents, poor visibility, uneven seabed terrain, and changing sea states could complicate efforts to recover submerged wreckage and flight recorders.
