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Turkish Airlines flight TK204 was flying between Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) and Istanbul Airport (IST) when it was forced to divert when the captain suddenly died in flight. The Airbus A350-900 was able to safely land thanks to two other pilots after the captain “collapsed during the flight.”
Turkish Airlines flight makes an emergency landing at New York’s JFK after the captain dies onboard, airline officials have said.
The 59-year-old pilot was identified as Ilcehin Pehlivan.
The Airbus A350-900 was heading from Seattle to Istanbul when it made the diversion.… pic.twitter.com/2TNsgm30Wo
— Breaking Aviation News & Videos (@aviationbrk) October 9, 2024
Captain Ilcehin Pehlivan had worked for Turkish Airlines since 2007. He was only 59 years when he suddenly passed away Monday afternoon. The aircraft was flying over Greenland when an emergency was declared and the aircraft diverted to New York John F Kennedy International Airport (JFK).
Turkish Airlines spokesperson, Yahya Ustun, released the following statement:
During the flight of our Airbus A350 with tail number TC-LGR, on route TK204 from Seattle to Istanbul, Captain Ilcehin Pehlivan lost consciousness. After initial medical assistance onboard proved unsuccessful, the cockpit crew, consisting of one captain and one co-pilot, decided to execute an emergency landing. Unfortunately, our captain passed away before landing.
We wish our captain eternal peace and patience for his grieving family, as well as all his colleagues and loved ones.”
Pehlivan is reported as not having any prior medical issues and underwent a routine examination in March. He was cleared to fly and there were no indications that anything was wrong. Passengers were accommodated on other flights to get them to Istanbul.
Anthony’s Take: My condolences to the captain’s friends and family. It’s unclear what happened here, but thankfully the other pilots were able to handle the situation.
(Featured Image Credit: Airbus.)
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Advertiser & Editorial Disclosure: The Bulkhead Seat earns an affiliate commission for anyone approved through the links above This compensation may impact how and where links appear on this site. We work to provide the best publicly available offers to our readers. We frequently update them, but this site does not include all available offers. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed, or approved by any of these entities.
