Turkish Airlines pilot dies mid-flight
A Turkish Airlines pilot has died after becoming ill on his own flight from Seattle to Istanbul in Turkey.
Captain Ilcehin Pehlivan, 59, collapsed mid-air and a second pilot and co-pilot took over the controls, an airline spokesman said on X.
“When first aid to our captain on the plane was unsuccessful, the cockpit crew… decided to make an emergency landing, but he died before landing,” Yahya Ustun explained.
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The Airbus A350 plane landed in New York and plans were then made to fly the passengers on to Turkey from there, he added.
Flight TK204 took off from Seattle shortly after 19:00 on Tuesday evening.
The pilot appears to have got into trouble over the Canadian territory of Nunavut, before his colleagues took over and headed for John F Kennedy airport.
Pehlivan had flown with Turkish Airlines since 2007 and had been given a regular health check in early March, which found no health problem that might affect his job, the airline said.
The cause of the pilot’s death has not been released.
With information from BBC
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