Acclaimed Russian virtuoso dies on flight to Istanbul
ISTANBUL
Sergei Stadler with a Guadagnini violin, 2019. (Wikimedia)
The global music community is mourning world-renowned Russian violinist and conductor Sergey Stadler, who passed away after suffering a fatal medical emergency aboard a Pegasus Airlines flight from St. Petersburg to Istanbul.
On April 20, the Turkish low-cost carrier’s aircraft departed from the Russian port city of St. Petersburg and was en route to Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen International Airport when Stadler fell ill while flying over Romanian airspace.
The crew declared a medical emergency and diverted the plane to the nearest airport, Bucharest Henri Coanda International Airport.
The airbus signaled the emergency by setting its transponder to code 7700 and landed safely at 17:47 local time.
Despite medical intervention upon landing, Stadler could not be revived.
Further details regarding the cause of death have not yet been disclosed.