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By Jordan King
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A Turkish Airlines pilot died after falling ill during his own flight from Seattle to Istanbul.
Captain Ilcehin Pehlivan, 59, collapsed mid-air, prompting a second pilot and co-pilot to take over the controls, Turkish Airlines spokesperson Yahya Üstün said.
"When first aid to our captain on the plane was unsuccessful, the cockpit crew...decided to make an emergency landing, but he died before landing," Üstün wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
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Flight TK204 made an emergency landing at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport shortly before 6 a.m. ET on Wednesday, according to the flight tracking website FlightAware. It had taken off from Seattle on Tuesday evening.
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"As Turkish Airlines, we deeply feel the loss of our captain and extend our sincerest condolences to his bereaved family, colleagues, and all his loved ones," Üstün said.
He added that a routine health check in March showed that Pehlivan had no health problems that would have stopped him from flying. He had worked at Turkish Airlines since 2007.
The cause of Pehlivan's death has not yet been released. Newsweek has contacted Turkish Airlines for comment.
Pilots must usually undergo medical exams every 12 months—and every six months for those over age 40.
The pilot's death comes after a woman was forced to make an emergency landing in a private plane when her pilot husband suffered an apparent heart attack mid-flight. The plane was flying from Henderson Executive Airport in Nevada to Monterey, California, on Friday when its pilot, Eliot Alper, experienced a medical emergency.
His wife, Yvonne Kinane-Wells, who had no formal flight training, took the reins and received detailed guidance from air traffic control on how to land the plane. In recordings obtained by Inside Edition, an air traffic controller can be heard giving Kinane-Wells instructions, asking, "Are you with me?"
"Yes, I am," Kinane-Wells replied.
"OK. So make sure you add a little bit of power," the air traffic controller told her.
Later in the recording, he told Kinane-Wells: "Your altitude is looking good, 5,900 feet. Try to stay level at six."
He directed Kinane-Wells to change course and land the twin-engine Beechcraft King Air 90 at the nearest airport, which was Meadows Field in Bakersfield, California.
"We're going to set you up so that as you level off from your turn, you're going to be straight in for Bakersfield airport. Is that all right?" the air traffic controller said, and Kinane-Wells affirmed.
She managed to land the plane safely and was unhurt.
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