Passenger jet captain suddenly dies mid-flight forcing plane to make emergency landing while flying from US to Turkey

A TURKISH Airlines pilot has died mid-flight forcing an emergency landing.

Pilot İlçehin Pehlivan fainted during the 12-hour flight forcing the other pilots on board to head off course to New York's JFK.

The Airbus 350 had departed Seattle on Tuesday evening and was on its way to Istanbul when the tragedy happened.

Plane tracking website FlightRadar24 shows the aircraft flying north over Canada, before turning around over Baffin Island.

The 59-year-old had worked for the airline since 2007 and had passed a medical examination in March, the flag carrier said.

A spokesperson posted on X: "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.

"We wish Allah's mercy upon our captain and patience to his grieving family, all his colleagues and loved ones."

Passengers now stuck in New York will now fly to Istanbul out of New York, the spokesperson said.

Pilots dying during a flight is not unprecedented with a LATAM captain dying in the toilet last year.

Ivan Andaur, 56, was flying from Miami to Santiago in August when he suffered a heart attack.

A second pilot and co-pilot were forced to make an emergency landing at Tocumen International Airport in Panama City.

The same month a 40-year-old pilot died just before he was set to fly from Pune to Nagpur.

Captain Manoj Subramanyam collapsed at the boarding gate and was transported to hospital where he was pronounced dead.

Airport workers came to his assistance and administered CPR to the pilot, but it was too late.