A Turkish Airlines pilot died after collapsing mid-flight, forcing the Turkish national carrier to make an emergency landing in New York, the airline said on Wednesday.

The plane had taken off from the western US coastal city of Seattle on Tuesday evening, airline spokesman Yahya Ustun wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

“The pilot of our Airbus 350… flight TK204 from Seattle to Istanbul collapsed during the flight,” he wrote.

“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 59-year-old pilot, who had worked for Turkish Airlines since 2007, had passed a medical examination in March, which gave no indication of any health problems, Ustun wrote. (AFP: Text, Excluding Headline)