Turkish Airlines flight from Seattle to Istanbul made an emergency landing in New York on Wednesday morning due to the death of the pilot while in the air.
The spokesperson for Turkish Airlines, Yahya Üstün, stated in a post on social media X that the 59-year-old pilot, Lehjin Pehlivan, lost consciousness at some point after the TK204 flight took off from Seattle on Tuesday night.
“We had the Airbus A350 pilot on flight TK204 from Seattle to Istanbul fainting during the flight,” he wrote, “After unsuccessful attempts to revive him, another pilot and crew decided to make an emergency landing, but the pilot passed away before the landing.”
Data from tracking website FlightAware shows that the Airbus A350 safely landed at JFK International Airport around 6 AM.
The airline spokesperson mentioned that arrangements are being made for passengers to reach their destination from New York.
Üstün said that Pehlivan had been working with Turkish Airlines since 2007, and his routine health check in March this year showed no health issues that would hinder his work.
“As Turkish Airlines, we are deeply saddened by the loss of our captain and extend our sincere condolences to his family, colleagues, and loved ones,” Üstün expressed.
The name of Turkish Airlines has recently been brought up in U.S. media due to the corruption investigation of New York City Mayor Adams. According to the indictment, Adams received free or significantly discounted luxury trips offered by the Turkish government. However, Adams denies all allegations.