Plane Makes Emergency Landing In New York After Pilot Dies Mid-Flight

A Turkish Airlines flight made an emergency landing at New York airport on Wednesday after the captain died on board. The airline spokesman said that the 59-year-old captain collapsed mid-air and a second pilot and co-pilot took over the controls. The plane, an Airbus A350, made the emergency landing at the John F. Kennedy airport.

"When the first medical intervention to our captain on the plane was ineffective, the cockpit crew consisting of 1 captain and 1 co-pilot decided to make an emergency landing, but our captain lost his life before landing," said the airline spokesman in a post on X on Wednesday. The dead pilot has been identified as Ilcehin Pehlivan. The statement also added that the Turkish Airlines had employed Ilcehin Pehlivan since 2007, and he last had a routine health check in March when no health issues that might affect his job were found.

TK204 sefer sayılı Seatle- İstanbul seferini icra eden TC-LGR kuyruk tescilli Airbus 350 tipi uçağımızın Kaptan Pilot’u İlçehin PEHLİVAN, sefer esnasında baygınlık geçirmiştir. Kaptanımıza uçakta yapılan ilk doktor müdahalesi sonuçsuz kalınca 1 kaptan ve 1 yardımcı pilottan…

— Yahya ÜSTÜN (@yhyustun) October 9, 2024

The flight, traveling from Seattle to Istanbul, was over Baffin Island in northern Canada when it took a sharp right turn and headed for New York. At the same time, the cause of the pilot's death has not been released.