Turkish Airlines Captain Dies Mid-Flight

A Turkish Airlines captain passed away while flying from Seattle (SEA) to Istanbul (IST). Due to the emergency on board, the flight had to divert to New York JFK Airport.

An Unfortunate Passing

Turkish Airlines Flight TK204 was a scheduled service from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) to Istanbul Airport (IST). The flight took off yesterday on October 8th, taking off from Seattle at 7:01 PM.

The flight was operated by an Airbus A350-900 registered as TC-LGR.

While the exact time is currently unknown, the aircraft's captain "collapsed" during the flight. Turkish Airlines spokesman Yahya Üstün posted on X stating that: 

"After an unsuccessful attempt to give first aid, the flight crew of another pilot and a co-pilot decided to make an emergency landing, but he died before landing."

The flight made a sharp turn towards New York 3 hours and 55 minutes after taking off at 1:55 AM EDT (New York time zone). It landed 4 hours and 1 minute later at John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) at 5:56 AM EDT.

The captain of the flight was 59-year-old Ilcehin Pehlivan. He has been working for Turkish Airlines since 2007. 

The Airbus A350 is still on the grounds at JFK Airport at the time of writing. It has been less than 2 hours since the flight landed.

Turkish Airlines has not yet commented on the incident.