Turkish Airlines, emergency landing | A Turkish Airlines flight had to make an emergency landing in New York

The 59-year-old pilot lost consciousness after the flight took off from Seattle on Tuesday night, Turkish Airlines spokesman Yahya Üstün said in a statement.

The crew decided to make an emergency landing and try to revive the pilot, but he died before the plane landed.

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The spokesperson said that measures are being taken to ensure that the passengers will continue to Istanbul.

The pilot had worked for the company since 2007. A routine health checkup in March did not reveal any problems that would prevent him from working, according to Üstün.