Focus on navigation glitch in cargo plane crash | The Express Tribune

Investigators probing the K2 Airways cargo aircraft crash are examining the possibility of a malfunction in the aircraft’s Inertial Reference System (IRS) as well as spatial disorientation as potential causes of the accident, while the aircraft’s black box, engines, fuselage and crew have yet to be recovered.

According to sources, preliminary investigations are focusing on a possible technical fault in the aircraft’s Inertial Reference System (IRS), along with the possibility that the pilots may have experienced spatial disorientation before the crash.

Sources said the IRS is a critical navigation system that provides pilots with information about the aircraft’s position, direction of travel, flight attitude and speed. The system is capable of operating independently without relying on external navigation signals.

Investigators are also examining the possibility of spatial disorientation, a highly dangerous aviation condition in which a pilot loses accurate awareness of the aircraft’s actual position, direction or movement and perceives a false sense of orientation.

According to sources, a fault in the aircraft’s navigation system had emerged as an area of focus during the preliminary inquiry. They added that shortly before the crash, the flight crew had requested heading guidance from air traffic control.

Meanwhile, on the fifth day of the salvage and rescue operation on Saturday, recovery teams were still unable to locate the aircraft’s black box.

Sources said the aircraft’s engines and flight data recorder are critical pieces of evidence for determining the cause of the accident. Investigators believe that once the black box is recovered and its data decoded, a clearer picture of the events leading up to the crash is expected to emerge.