Turkish Airlines flight makes emergency landing after pilot dies mid-air

A Turkish Airlines jetliner headed from Seattle to Istanbul had to make an emergency landing in New York after the pilot died on board.

Pilot Ilçehin Pehlivan, 59, lost consciousness some point after Flight TK204 took off from Seattle on Tuesday night, Turkish Airlines said. Crew members decided to make an emergency landing and worked to revive the pilot, but he died before the plane landed.

Tracking site FlightAware shows that the Airbus A350 landed at John F Kennedy International Airport, in New York City, just before 6am local time (11am BST) on Wednesday (9 October). Arrangements are being made for passengers to reach their destination from New York, an airline spokesperson said.

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Mr Pehlivan had worked at Turkish Airlines since 2007. A routine health check in March showed no health problems that would have prevented him from working.

“As Turkish Airlines, we deeply feel the loss of our captain and extend our sincerest condolences to his bereaved family, colleagues, and all his loved ones,” the spokesperson added.