Charles Crooks death: North Carolina pilot dies after falling from plane before emergency landing

Police say that they have found the body of co-pilot Charles Crooks, 23, who exited a plane mid-flight during an emergency landing close to Raleigh, North Carolina, on July 29.

Federal authorities, looking into the incident, claim that Crooks may have died either by jumping from the plane or by falling from it when the aircraft was attempting to safely land after losing its right wheel. The 23-year-old co-pilot’s body was discovered in the garden of a Fuquay-Varina residence.

In a post on the Fuquay-Varina Police Department's Facebook page from Friday night, the man was identified as Charles Hew Crooks of Raleigh.

Charles Crooks was not wearing a parachute when he fell. The plane's altitude at the time of his exit from it remains unknown. However, based on reports, it appears to have been around 3,850 feet. Authorities are also uncertain as to whether he died before the fall.

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Charles Crooks' father says he can't process his son's death

CASA C-212 Aviocar, a twin-engine aircraft, took off on July 29 at around 2.40 pm with Charles Crooks and another pilot onboard. It made a grassy landing at Raleigh-Durham International Airport, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.

In the video footage that can be found online, the plane appears to slip off the runway and spin in a partial circle before coming to a halt.

An emergency landing at the airport was requested by Charles Crooks' co-pilot, who remains anonymous after he informed air traffic control that the landing gear was malfunctioning.

He suffered minor injuries for which he was treated and was later discharged from the hospital. However, the aircraft, which has the capacity to carry 10 passengers, was badly damaged.

Darshan Patel, the chief of operations at Wake County Emergency Management, speaking on the matter, said:

"I believe this was a first for many of us that were working this incident today."

Patel and the Fuquay-Varina Police Department deferred questions about the inquiry into RDU, the Federal Aviation Administration, and the National Transportation Safety Board.

According to Patel, searchers mapped the flight plan of the aircraft and compared it to the pilot's radio transmission. According to Patel, searchers covered a sizable area from Southern Wake County to the border with Harnett County via a helicopter and a drone.

Meanwhile, Charles Crooks' father, Hew Crooks, informed local media that he had no idea what had happened to his son, saying:

"I can’t imagine what happened. We’ll figure it out, I suppose."

He also talked about his son's love for his work:

"We can’t process it right now, I don’t know. He pursued his private pilot license while in college. I think he got that when he was a sophomore. He said a couple weeks ago, he wouldn’t trade places with anybody in the world. He loved where he was."

Police chief of Fuquay-Varina, Brandon Medina, called the circumstances "unique," and did not specify whether it was being handled like a criminal investigation.