A Pakistani cargo plane carrying five crew members has crashed into the Gulf of Oman, according to reporting, prompting a search operation in the waters where the aircraft went down. The crash has focused attention on the fate of those who were on board when the plane came down.
The aircraft had only recently become airborne when the trouble began. According to the account, the cargo plane disappeared from radar and crashed into the Gulf of Oman after taking off from the United Arab Emirates, ending what should have been a routine departure in disaster.
There was a warning sign from the cockpit before contact was lost. According to the reporting, the plane's pilot reported a navigation problem before the aircraft disappeared, an indication that something had gone wrong on board in the moments leading up to the crash.
Flight-tracking information has offered an early picture of the plane's final moments. According to preliminary data from Flightradar24, the aircraft showed a loss of altitude followed by a climb, and then a sudden and dramatic descent, a pattern consistent with a serious in-flight emergency.
The immediate priority has turned to those who were flying the aircraft. According to the account, five crew members were on board the cargo plane when it went down, and their fate is tied to the outcome of the operation now under way in the area of the crash.
For now, efforts are concentrated on the waters of the Gulf of Oman. According to the reporting, the search is ongoing, with authorities working to locate the aircraft and its crew as investigators begin to piece together what caused the plane to come down shortly after leaving the United Arab Emirates.