Plane forced to make emergency landing at JFK after pilot dies mid-flight

A commercial flight was forced to make an emergency landing at New York’s JFK Airport on Wednesday morning following tragic circumstances mid-flight.

The incident took place onboard a Turkish Airlines flight. Credit: NurPhoto / Getty (Stock Photo)

During a flight from Seattle, Washington, to the Turkish capital of Istanbul, a Turkish Airlines Airbus A350-900 was forced to reroute to New York after its captain died onboard.

As reported by the New York Post, airline officials reveal that the pilot - named as 59-year-old Ilcehin Pehlivan - “collapsed” during the flight.

"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 spokesperson sadly revealed.

Flight data shows the moment the plane was diverted. Credit: FlightAware

Airline spokesperson Yahya Ustun wrote on X that Captain Pehlivan last had a health examination back in March at the Aviation Medical Center, which detected "no health problem that would prevent him from working".

Data from flight tracking site FlightAware shows the moment the flight was forced to make a sudden turn and emergency landing at JFK just before 6:00AM local time.

Captain Pehlivan had worked for Turkish Airlines since 2007.

The 59-year-old captain had worked for the airline for 17 years. Credit: Turkish Airlines

"As the Turkish Airlines family, we wish God’s mercy upon our captain and patience to his grieving family, all his colleagues and loved ones," Ustun added in his statement.

The Mirror reports that the originally scheduled flight from Seattle to Istanbul should have taken around 11 hours. The Turkish Airline plane was diverted after around eight hours flying time.

Our thoughts go out to Turkish Airlines and the loved ones of Captain Ilcehin Pehlivan at this time.

Featured image credit: NurPhoto / Getty