Turkish Airlines Pilot Dies During Flight, Forcing Emergency Landing in NYC

Tragedy on a Turkish Airlines flight forced the plane to make an emergency landing when the pilot died in the air early Wednesday.

The Airbus A350-900 was en route from Seattle to Istanbul when 59-year-old pilot Ilcehin Pehlivan collapsed, according to airline spokesman Yahya Üstün , who shared the news on X.

The spokesperson said despite the flight crew's efforts to administer first aid, the pilot died mid-flight. The other pilot and copilot then performed an emergency landing.

Flight tracking data from FlightAware shows the dramatic moment the plane made a sharp turn toward the Big Apple, eventually landing safely at New York’s JFK Wednesday morning.

Ustun added that Pehlivan, who had been with Turkish Airlines since 2007, recently passed a medical exam in March with no signs of health issues.

He was 59.

RIP