Turkish Airlines flight makes emergency landing in New York after pilot dies

NEW YORK– A Turkish Airlines jet en route from Seattle to Istanbul made an emergency landing in New York on Wednesday after the pilot on board was killed, an airline spokesman said.

Pilot İlçehin Pehlivan, 59, lost consciousness at some point after flight TK204 took off from Seattle on Tuesday evening, Turkish Airlines spokesman Yahya Üstün said in a statement.

Crew members decided to make an emergency landing and tried to revive the pilot, Üstün said, but he died before the plane landed.

Data from the tracking site FlightAware shows that the Airbus A350 landed at John F. Kennedy International Airport just before 6 a.m

Arrangements are being made for passengers to reach their destinations from New York, the airline spokesperson said.

Pehlivan had worked at Turkish Airlines since 2007, Üstün said. A routine health check in March showed there were no health problems that would prevent him from working, he said.

“As Turkish Airlines, we deeply feel the loss of our captain and extend our sincere condolences to his heartbroken family, colleagues and all his loved ones,” Üstün said.