Turkish Airlines flight makes emergency landing after pilot dies

A Turkish Airlines flight has made an emergency landing at JFK International Airport in New York after the pilot fainted mid-flight, the airline said Wednesday.

The plane had taken off from Seattle on Tuesday and was intended to land in Istanbul, according to Turkish Airlines spokesman Yahya Üstün. However, the pilot collapsed during the flight, and he died after attempts to resuscitate him were unsuccessful.

“The pilot of our Airbus 350… flight TK204 from Seattle to Istanbul collapsed during the flight,” Üstün wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

“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 flight tracking website FlightAware shows that Turkish Airlines flight TK204 departed from Seattle on Tuesday at 7:02 p.m. and landed at JFK on Wednesday at 5:57 a.m.

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Turkish Airlines identified the pilot as İlçehin Pehlivan, 59, who had worked for the airline since 2007.

According to the spokesman, Pehlivan underwent a periodic health exam on Aug. 3 and was given a clean bill of health by the General Directorate of Civil Aviation.

The passengers on diverted flight TK204 will be flown to Istanbul from JFK International, according to the airline.

“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,” Üstün said.

Ifeoma Okeke-Korieocha

Ifeoma Okeke-Korieocha is the Aviation Correspondent at BusinessDay Media Limited, publishers of BusinessDay Newspapers. She is also the Deputy Editor, BusinessDay Weekender Magazine, the Saturday Weekend edition of BusinessDay. She holds a BSC in Mass Communication from the prestigious University of Nigeria, Nsukka and a Masters degree in Marketing at the University of Lagos. As the lead writer on the aviation desk, Ifeoma is responsible and in charge of the three weekly aviation and travel pages in BusinessDay and BDSunday. She also overseas and edits all pages of BusinessDay Saturday Weekender. She has written various investigative, features and news stories in aviation and business related issues and has been severally nominated for award in the category of Aviation Writer of the Year by the Nigeria Media Nite-Out awards; one of the Nigeria’s most prestigious media awards ceremonies. Ifeoma is a one-time winner of the prestigious Nigeria Media Merit Award under the 'Aviation Writer of the Year' Category. She is the 2025 Eloy Award winner under the Print Media Journalist category. She has undergone several journalism trainings by various prestigious organisations. Ifeoma is also a fellow of the Female Reporters Leadership Fellowship of the Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism.