The family of Pakistani co-pilot Faisal Jatoi waited anxiously for news on Thursday as search teams continued efforts to locate the five crew members aboard a K2 Airways cargo plane that crashed into the Arabian Sea.
Jatoi was among five crew members on board the Boeing 737 freighter, which disappeared on Tuesday night while flying from Sharjah to Karachi. Wreckage of the aircraft was located on Wednesday about 53 nautical miles south of Ormara, but the fate of those on board has not been officially confirmed.
Recalling the moment the family learned something had gone wrong, Jatoi’s father-in-law, Ghulam Nabi Bahrani, told Reuters: “That moment felt like doomsday for us.” He said the family became alarmed after they were unable to contact Jatoi and discovered reports of the crash online.
Bahrani said the 27-year-old aircraft had spent 10 days in Sharjah for repairs and was returning to Pakistan after awaiting a spare part from the United States. According to the Pakistan Airports Authority, the crew reported a navigational problem shortly before the aircraft disappeared from radar.
Search teams from the Pakistan Navy and maritime authorities are continuing deep-sea operations to recover the flight recorders and locate the missing crew. Aviation experts have warned that the recovery could be among the most challenging in Pakistan’s history because of the Arabian Sea’s extreme depth, strong currents and poor underwater visibility.