17-year-old Pakistani boy may have solved 37-year mystery of missing PIA flight
Faseeh Ali Rajput, a 17-year-old boy from Pakistan, is making headlines for locating what he believes could be wreckage from Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) Flight PK-404 that disappeared 37 years ago. His claims have sparked widespread praise and calls for an official investigation.
The Fate of PIA Flight PK-404
On August 25, 1989, the Fokker F27 Friendship aircraft was flying from Gilgit Airport to Islamabad. The flight was carrying 49 passengers and 5 crew members. Approximately four to nine minutes after takeoff, the pilots made a routine radio call at 7:40 am near the town of Bunji. The plane vanished without a trace following this call.
The Pakistani military, with assistance from the Indian military, conducted extensive aerial and ground searches around the Nanga Parbat mountain range. Despite their efforts, no sign of the plane was found. To this day, the fate of PIA Flight PK-404 remains a mystery.
Well-done Faseeh Rajput. Approximately after 37 years you seem to have resolved the mystery of the ill fated flight of PK-404. Kudos to you young man. The nation is proud of you.
Now the government needs to respond ASP. pic.twitter.com/ZvcVPJGoL1— Tariq Saeed (@tariq_puma) November 11, 2026
Faseeh’s Investigation
After becoming captivated by a documentary about the disappearance, Faseeh began his own search. He spent months looking up flight paths, examining terrain data, and browsing high-resolution satellite maps on different web platforms. He used the aircraft’s last known radio call near Bunji at 7:40 AM to calculate the maximum distance it could have flown based on his estimate of the remaining fuel supply.
He narrowed down the search radius around the town of Bunji. This radius excluded populated areas, including towns and inhabited valleys, since a crash in these regions would have been seen or reported. He was able to identify seven specific sets of coordinates amidst the rugged Himalayan terrain that traced the flight’s last known pathway near Bunji and Nanga Parbat. He then narrowed his search to coordinates that appeared to show aircraft-like debris.
In the video documenting his investigation, which he uploaded to YouTube, he describes what he believes is a debris trail divided into three sections across a shifting glacier. He noted that the seemingly sharp mechanical silhouette on a rocky bridge appears to be the Fokker F27’s nose and cockpit. Meanwhile, he identified what he believes are the fuselage, tail, and engines in different areas of the glacier.
