Death Of Turkish Airlines Pilot On Airbus A350 Flight From Seattle To Istanbul Leads To Emergency Landing At New York JFK
A Turkish Airlines pilot has died while flying the carrier’s aircraft from the Pacific Northwest of the United States to Turkey, with the airline’s spokesperson confirming the news.
Diverting to New York
In a statement on X, formerly known as Twitter, October 9, the Turkish Airlines spokesperson confirmed that the captain of the flight initially fainted during the flight.
While there was an attempt to provide first aid to the Turkish Airlines pilot, the two other pilots onboard the Airbus A350-900 decided to initiate an emergency landing.
However, the pilot lost his life while the aircraft was diverting to New York John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK), added the carrier’s representative.
The A350-900, registered as TC-LGR, was operating Turkish Airlines flight TK204 from Seattle Tacoma International Airport (SEA) to Istanbul Airport (IST), having departed the Seattleite airport on October 7.
Photo: Vincenzo Pace | Simple Flying
According to Flightradar24, the aircraft initiated its diversion as it was overflying Nunavut, a sparsely populated area of Canada.
The flight tracking service’s data showed that the aircraft began turning in Canada towards New York’s main airport at around 02:00 local time (UTC -4). The A350-900 landed at JFK at 5:56 local time (UTC -4).
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The senior pilot, noted for his prior experience with Alliance Air and SpiceJet, fell ill and passed away en route from Delhi to Doha.
Recent medical examination
According to the spokesperson, the pilot had worked at Turkish Airlines since 2007. The 59-year-old captain had their medical check at a medical center authorized by the Turkish Directorate General of Civil Aviation (Sivil Havacılık Genel Müdürlüğü, SHGM) on March 3.
Photo: MBekir I Shutterstock
During the check, no health-related issues were detected that would have prevented the pilot from stepping into the cockpit, the Turkish carrier’s representative added.
“Our plane has decided to land in New York, and our passengers’ return home is planned via New York [airport].”
The A350-900 that had diverted to New York was still at the airport at the time of publishing, with no scheduled departure time.
“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.”
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One of many flights from/to the US
Turkish Airlines launched its direct flights from Istanbul Airport (IST) to Seattle in May 2022, with the airline initially operating four weekly flights on the itinerary, data from the aviation analytics company Cirium showed.
By April 2023, the Turkish carrier added additional frequencies on the route, meaning that the connection from Istanbul to Seattle was now served daily. While it has temporarily expanded the schedule to include ten weekly flights on the route in September and October, the frequencies will go down to seven between November and March 2025 (with five weekly flights in February 2025 only).
Photo: Kevin Hackert | Shutterstock
Subsequently, Turkish Airlines has planned ten weekly flights from Istanbul to Seattle starting April 2025.
Seattle is just one of many destinations served by Turkish Airlines. In August, the airline scheduled 151 weekly flights to 14 different US airports, including Seattle.
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Turkish Airlines, a member of the Star Alliance, currently operates flights to 347 destinations across 130 countries.
