With the number of people who fly every day, some people do (tragically) pass away in the skies. However, one death yesterday was particularly noteworthy, as it was the captain of a flight.
Turkish A350 captain passes away on Seattle to Istanbul flight
As reported by The Aviation Herald, this incident happened on Tuesday, October 8, 2024, and involves Turkish Airlines flight TK204, scheduled to fly from Seattle (SEA) to Istanbul (IST). The flight was operated by a brand new Airbus A350-900 with the registration code TC-LGR.
Several hours into the flight, the captain reportedly became unconscious. The crew tried to get medical professionals to help, but they were unsuccessful, and he passed away. As a result, the other two pilots made the decision to divert the flight, so it ended up landing in New York (JFK), after quite the journey (more on that in a bit).
Below you can hear a little bit of the communication between air traffic controllers and pilots, as the jet approached New York, thanks to VASAviation.
The airline states that the captain was 59 years old, and had been at the airline since 2007. He had his last medical examination several months ago at the carrier’s medical center, and no health problems were detected, which would prevent him from working.
Per the statement, “as the Turkish Airlines family, we wish God’s mercy upon our captain and patience to his grieving family, all his colleagues and loved ones.”
How incredibly sad, as 59 years isn’t old. Of course we don’t fully know the captain’s medical history (other than him having recently been cleared to fly), but it’s a good reminder to live every day to the fullest, and to always make sure your loved ones know how much you care about them.
This flight’s interesting routing to New York
The logistics of this event are worth taking a quick peek at, especially when you look at the flight tracking. Let me just start by showing the map, which gives you a sense of just how far out its way the aircraft diverted.
The aircraft departed Seattle at 7:01PM local time, kicking off the anticipated 11-hour journey to Istanbul. The first 3hr20min of the flight followed the standard routing, as the aircraft flew northeast, and made it to the very northeastern portion of Canada.
However, at that point you can see the aircraft briefly making a turn south a bit, for just a matter of minutes. The plane then makes a turn north again for around 20 minutes, as if it’s going to continue its journey.
At that point, the jet makes a sharp turn to the south, and begins flying all the way to New York. From the time that the plane turned south, it took over four hours until the plane touched down in New York. The plane landed there at 5:56AM this morning, 7hr55min after departing Seattle.
Based on looking at the plane’s path, it sure seems like when there was first a turn to the south, perhaps the goal was to land at the nearest airport as quickly as possible, in hopes of the captain surviving. However, I assume that once it was determined that he had lost his life, the planning was based on logistics, rather than just the closest possible diversion point.
New York is of course a huge station for Turkish Airlines (as Mayor Adams can attest to!), so it’s easy to rebook passengers there, find a replacement crew, etc. Presumably the jet couldn’t fly all the way back to Istanbul with just two pilots, given rest requirements.
Bottom line
A Turkish Airlines Airbus A350 flying from Seattle to Istanbul diverted to New York, after the captain died inflight. The plane was already flying very far north, so it was quite the journey to land in New York, as it required flying around four hours out of the way. My thoughts are with the captain’s family, and may he rest in peace… how sad.
What do you make of this Turkish Airlines diversion?
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