Turkish Airlines bound for Istanbul lands in New York after pilot dies

NEW YORK CITY, New York: The death of the pilot aboard a Turkish Airlines jetliner headed from Seattle to Istanbul this week forced the copilot to make an emergency landing in New York, an airline official said.

Turkish Airlines spokesperson Yahya Ustun said in a statement that at some point after flight 204 took off from Seattle on October 8 night, Pilot Ilcehin Pehlivan, 59, lost consciousness.

Ustun said that when the captain could not be medically revived, the co-pilot decided to make an emergency landing but the captain died before the plane landed.

The airline had made arrangements for the passengers to reach their destination from New York.

Pehlivan had worked at Turkish Airlines since 2007 and a routine health check in March showed no health problems.