Plane diverted after co-pilot dies mid-flight

updated 10:40 a.m. ET Feb. 25, 2008

LONDON - A British airline said Monday that one of its flights was forced to divert to Turkey after the co-pilot died in mid-flight.

GB Airways said the Airbus A320, carrying 156 passengers from Manchester to Paphos in Cyprus, landed in Istanbul on Sunday after what was termed a medical emergency on the flight deck. The co-pilot was pronounced dead once the plane had landed.

The airline named the dead man as Michael Warren, 43, a former Royal Air Force pilot who was married and had two children. It did not give a specific cause of death but said he had died of natural causes.

The airline said passengers were never in danger. They were due to be flown to Cyprus on Monday.

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