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, the BBC reports.
Captain Ilcehin Pehlivan, 59, collapsed mid-air and a second pilot and co-pilot took over the controls, an airline spokesman said on X.
“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,” Yahya Ustun explained.
The Airbus A350 plane landed in New York and plans were then made to fly the passengers on to Turkey from there, he added.