A 40-minute recording captures the pilot of a small twin-engine plane requesting help from air traffic control to make an emergency landing before his 23-year-old co-pilot jumped or fell from the aircraft at a height of 3,500 feet.
North Carolina Pilot Dies After He Mysteriously Jumped Or Fell From Plane In Midair
The strange death of a pilot, who is thought to have either jumped or fallen from a plane in flight, has prompted investigations.
The body of Charles Hew Crooks was discovered in the backyard of a house in the North Carolina town of Fuquay-Varina, roughly 30 miles south of the airport where he was scheduled to land.
Authorities believe the 23-year-old fell 3,500 feet without a parachute, though they are unsure if he expired before the fall.
The cause Crooks was not in the cockpit when the jet hit the runway is currently being investigated by police.
The small plane Crooks was traveling in only had one of its two pilots on board when it made an emergency landing at Raleigh Durham International Airport on Friday (July 29).
According to federal investigators looking into the incident, Crooks either leaped or fell to his death as the aircraft struggled to land safely after losing its right wheel.
Darshan Patel, the chief of operations for Wake County Emergency Management, commented on the tragedy, saying, "I believe this was a first for a lot of us who were working this incident today."
The National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration are also conducting investigations.
The co-pilot of Crooks, whose name has not been made public, was injured slightly, taken to the hospital, and later released.
The aircraft, which had a capacity for ten passengers, was severely wrecked.
Hew Crooks, the victim's father, informed the local media that he had no idea what had happened to his dead son.
The heartbroken dad said: “He said a couple of weeks ago, he wouldn’t trade places with anybody in the world. He loved where he was.”
“I can’t imagine what happened.”
“We’ll figure it out, I suppose.”
The police chief of Fuquay-Varina, Brandon Medina, called the circumstance "unique," although he did not specify whether it is being handled like a criminal inquiry.