What Did the Cargo Plane Pilot Say in His Final Radio Call Before Crashing into the Arabian Sea?

[Sportschosun Reporter Jang Jong-ho] The final radio communication left by the pilot of the cargo plane that crashed into the Arabian Sea has been made public.

Authorities have confirmed debris from the aircraft in the sea and have begun investigating the exact cause of the accident while continuing the search for the crew.

According to foreign media outlets including Daily Star, a Boeing 737 cargo plane operated by private cargo carrier K2 Airways, which departed from Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and was bound for Karachi, Pakistan, reported a navigation system malfunction to air traffic control at around 9:18 p.m. on the 7th local time.

The Pakistan Airport Authority said, "The control center immediately guided and assisted the aircraft."

But just three minutes later, at around 9:21 p.m., radar showed the aircraft suddenly changing direction and rapidly losing altitude. After that, both radar contact and radio communication were lost. The crash site was identified as waters in the Arabian Sea, about 155 nautical miles (roughly 287 kilometers) west of Karachi.

At least five people were believed to have been on board the cargo plane at the time of the accident.

The pilot's final radio call reportedly included the words "rolling" or "floating" to describe the aircraft's condition.

Aviation experts explain that "rolling" can refer to an aircraft tilting abnormally from side to side. Rolling can also occur during a normal turn, but if it happens unintentionally, it may indicate a serious aircraft problem such as a flight control system failure, structural damage, severe turbulence, engine trouble, or an imbalance in lift.

"Floating" usually refers to an aircraft remaining above the runway during landing, but in this case, some suggest the pilot may have been trying to describe abnormal aircraft movement.

According to authorities, the cargo plane is believed to have plunged from an altitude of about 1,100 feet, or roughly 335 meters.

The Pakistan Navy and Pakistan Air Force are carrying out large-scale search and rescue operations in the crash area, and with wreckage now found, efforts to determine the cause of the accident are expected to accelerate.

The aircraft was first delivered in 1999 to Russia's state-run airline Aeroflot as a passenger plane and was converted into a cargo aircraft in 2012.

K2 Airways began operating it in 2024, and it was reportedly the airline's only aircraft.

Founded in 2017, K2 Airways is a private Pakistani cargo airline that has operated domestic routes and nearby international cargo routes from Jinnah International Airport in Karachi.

Reporter Jang Jong-ho bellho@sportschosun.com