The body of a man who reportedly exited an airplane mid-air before it made an emergency landing on Friday near Raleigh, North Carolina, local NBC affiliate WRAL-TV reports.
According to the station, the plane’s co-pilot Charles Hew Crooks, 23, who was not wearing a parachute, did not survive the fall and was found in the backyard of a Fuquay-Varina resident.
Citing a statement from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the news outlet reported that a twin-engine CASA CN-212 Aviocar landed in the grass at Raleigh-Durham International Airport around 2:40 pm local time.
In audio recordings from the plane obtained by the station, a pilot can be heard asking air traffic control for help.
“Emergency, we’ve lost our right wheel,” said the pilot in the recording.
“We’d like to speak to Raleigh and make an emergency landing at Raleigh.”
The news outlet aired videos showing the plane skid off the runway, where it spins in a partial circle before coming to a stop.
The FAA and National Transportation Safety Board said the incident is under investigation.
Watch the report below from WRAL-TV
First on @WRAL: we spoke with the father of the 23-year-old copilot who died before an emergency plane landing at RDU.
The dad of Charles Hew Crooks says his son was an experienced flyer who was living his dream, and they’re struggling to understand this sudden loss. pic.twitter.com/SasF8Buw98
— Keenan Willard (@KeenanWRAL) July 31, 2022
