A Turkish Airlines flight made an emergency landing at New York’s Kennedy Airport early this morning after the captain of the aircraft, Ilcehin Pehlivan, felt sick.
The Airbus A350-900 was heading from Seattle to the Turkish metropolis of Istanbul when it suddenly changed course and headed for the Big Apple.
The 59-year-old pilot, of the aircraft collapsed during the flight, airline spokesman Yahya Ustun wrote in X.
“After an unsuccessful attempt to provide him with first aid, the flight crew, consisting of another pilot and a co-pilot, decided to make an emergency landing, but Ilcehin Pehlivan did not succeed and died before landing,” the Turkish Airlines spokesman said.
The crew decided to divert to JFK, where the plane landed safely just before 6 a.m. local time.
In a statement, the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said that “the flight landed safely at John F. Kennedy International Airport, New York, around 6 a.m. local time on Wednesday, October 9”.
A map posted by flight data monitoring company FlightAware appears to show the plane flying over northern Canada before diverting southward to New York.
Pehlivan had worked for Turkish Airlines since 2007 and as recently as last March had undergone a medical examination, which showed no health problems that would have prohibited him from performing his duties, according to Mr. Ustun.
He expressed condolences on the loss of Ilcehin Pehlivan, saying: “As Turkish Airlines, we deeply feel the loss of our captain and offer our sincere condolences to his family, colleagues and all his loved ones.
All necessary procedures have reportedly been carried out for passengers to return from New York to Turkey.
