The Turkish Airlines flight between Seattle to Istanbul ended up having to make a sudden stop in New York as 1 of the pilots fell in the air, the carrier said on Wednesday.
The event happened right before the flight left Seattle on Tuesday evening. Despite rapid efforts to provide first aid, the 59-year-old pilot died before the jet would land, in accordance to a statement released on social media by Turkish Airlines spokeswoman Yahya Ustun.
The second pilot and other crew members redirected the Airbus A350, flying as flight TK204, to New York. The pilot has worked with the airline since 2007, and an annual checkup in March revealed no health issues.