A Turkish Airlines pilot has died after becoming ill on his own flight from Seattle on the north-west coast of the United States to Istanbul in Turkey. Captain Ilcehin Pehlivan, 59, collapsed mid-air and a second pilot and co-pilot took over the controls, an airline spokesman said on X.

A Turkish Airlines flight from Seattle to Istanbul was diverted and the plane made an emergency landing at JFK International Airport in New York after the pilot collapsed and died.

A Turkish Airlines pilot died mid-flight while the aircraft was en route from Seattle to Istanbul on Wednesday, according to the airline.

A Turkish Airlines flight made an emergency landing at New York’s JFK early Wednesday after the captain died onboard, airline officials said. The Airbus A350-900 was heading from Seattle to Turkish capital Istanbul when it made an extreme turn toward the Big Apple,