A flight from Seattle to Istanbul, Turkey made an emergency landing in New York on Wednesday morning after one of its pilots died mid-flight.
A Turkish Airlines pilot “lost consciousness” mid-flight forcing the co-pilot to reroute to JFK in New York.
Turkish Airlines confirmed Capt. İlçehin Pehlivan, 59, died before the plane landed after medical intervention failed to resuscitate him.
The pilot was in perfect health and had his last health examination in August.
“Having worked at Turkish Airlines since 2007, İlçehin PEHLİVAN was 59 years old. A periodic health examination was carried out on 08.03.2024 at the Aviation Medical Center authorized by the General Directorate of Civil Aviation, and no health problem was detected that would prevent him from working,” Turkish Airline’s senior vice president of media relations said on X.
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
ABC News reported:
Flight 204 was traveling from Seattle to Istanbul when it was diverted to John F. Kennedy International Airport for an emergency landing at approximately 6 a.m. after “one of the pilots suffered a medical emergency,” according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
Capt. İlçehin Pehlivan “lost consciousness” during the flight, and after initial medical intervention proved ineffective, the co-pilot was rerouted to JFK, where the Airbus A320 safely landed, the airline said in a statement.
Turkish Airlines also confirmed that Pehlivan died before the plane touched ground. Since it was a long-haul international flight, two other pilots were on board at the time.
Upon landing, the aircraft was met by emergency personnel, according to airport authorities.
