https://www.avweb.com/aviation-news/co-pilot-exits-aircraft-before-emergency-landing/

Copilot Exits Aircraft Before Emergency Landing
By
Russ Niles -
July 30, 202211

Authorities in North Carolina are trying to figure out how and why the
copilot of a CA 212 twin ended up falling into the backyard of a home in a
suburb of Raleigh just before the pilot made an emergency landing at Raleigh
International Airport. According to an ATC recording obtained by WRAL
https://www.wral.com/body-man-who-jumped-or-fell-from-plane-found-in-fuquay-varina-neighborhood/20395362
the unidentified pilot called ATC to report he was in trouble. “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.” There is one
published report
https://www.newsnationnow.com/us-news/southeast/co-pilot-falls-from-plane-north-carolina/
the captain subsequently reported the other pilot had left the aircraft but
the circumstances aren’t clear.

The aircraft, a 19-place STOL turboprop twin built by CASA (now Airbus) in
Spain, went on to the airport to make a rocky but successful landing and
skid into the infield about 3:20 p.m. Shortly after, first responders found
the body of the copilot, Charles Hew Crooks, 23 in the backyard of a home in
Fuquay-Varina. The pilot suffered minor injuries and was taken to a local
hospital but released later that evening. The station interviewed Crooks’
father (his name wasn’t provided) and he did not know how his son left the
aircraft. “I can’t imagine what happened,” his father said. “We’ll figure it
out, I suppose.”
---------------------------------

https://www.wral.com/body-man-who-jumped-or-fell-from-plane-found-in-fuquay-varina-neighborhood/20395362
Pilot dies after exiting plane midair before emergency landing at RDU
Tags:

RDU Airport, emergency landing, missing person

Posted July 29, 2022 3:12 p.m. EDT
Updated July 30, 2022 7:04 p.m. EDT

By Eric Miller, WRAL multimedia journalist and Heather Leah, WRAL
multiplatform producer

Fuquay-Varina, N.C. — A man jumped or fell from a plane Friday afternoon
before it crashed at the Raleigh-Durham International Airport for an
emergency landing after having trouble with its landing gear.

The 23-year-old co-pilot's body was found in the backyard of a Fuquay-Varina
resident at around 7 p.m. during search efforts. Charles Hew Crooks did not
survive the fall, authorities said.

The plane, which is owned by SPORE LTD LLC, is a small 10-person plane. Only
two people were on board the plane when it took off and only one person, the
pilot, was on the plane when it landed.

Crooks, who was not wearing a parachute, was found near Sunset Lake Road and
Hilltop Needmore Road in a Fuquay-Varina neighborhood.

First responders found Crooks when a resident flagged them down after they
"heard something in their backyard," said Wake County Emergency Management
chief of operations Darshan Patel.

The pilot who landed the plane was taken to a local hospital with minor
injuries. He was released from the hospital on Friday night.
Emergency landing caught on camera

Video captured by a WRAL Sky 5 pilot shows the plane skid off the runway,
where it spins in a partial circle before coming to a stop. Multiple
firetrucks and paramedics are seen in video waiting.

WRAL News received audio Friday night of the pilot asking 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 airfield at RDU International Airport was temporarily closed until the
scene was secured.

"I saw a whole crowd of people looking out the window at the jet bridge, and
then saw that propeller plane on the grass beyond the runway and a couple of
emergency vehicles," said Simon Palmore, who witnessed the plane's
tumultuous landing and shared photos on Twitter.

Teams spray the area around the plane. Image courtesy of Simon Palmore.

SUGGEST A CORRECTION
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On cam: Plane makes emergency landing at RDU without fully operational
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Officials provide update on search for person who jumped or fell from plane,
after finding body in Fuquay-Varina
show all
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https://www.newsnationnow.com/us-news/southeast/co-pilot-falls-from-plane-north-carolina/

New details released after co-pilot falls from plane in North Carolina
Southeast

Mariah Ellis, Kathryn Hubbard, Addy Bink, Nexstar Media Wire
Posted: Jul 31, 2022 / 12:25 PM CDT | Updated: Jul 31, 2022 / 12:25 PM
CDT

MORRISVILLE, N.C. (WNCN) — New details have come out about the hours leading
up to a plane’s emergency landing in North Carolina and the co-pilot’s
mysterious mid-flight exit and fatal fall.

At around 3:20 p.m. Friday, a medium cargo plane made an emergency landing
at Raleigh-Durham International Airport in North Carolina. The twin-engine
CASA CN-212 Aviocar, made in Spain and registered to Colorado-based Spore
LTD, landed on a runway and veered into the grass.

The plane initially had two people on board. First responders told Nexstar’s
WNCN that one person onboard the plane was taken to Duke Hospital with minor
injuries.

Shortly after the plane landed, local emergency units began searching for a
co-pilot who either fell or jumped from the plane without a parachute while
it was in the air.

Authorities were later flagged down by someone who heard a noise in their
yard. The co-pilot, 23-year-old Charles Hew Crooks, was then found dead in
the Sonoma Springs Neighborhood, roughly 30 miles south of the airport.

Flight tracking software shows the plane initially took off from Raeford,
North Carolina, at 1:10 p.m. Friday. The plane circled around Raeford before
heading toward Raleigh, a roughly 80-mile trip.

Before arriving in Raeford, flight tracking software shows the aircraft took
off from the Rocky Mount/Wilson Airport, about 50 miles west of Raleigh, at
11:52 a.m. and landed at Raeford West Airport at 12:34 p.m.

(Photo by Simon Palmore)
(Photo by Simon Palmore)
(Photo by Simon Palmore)
(Photo by Simon Palmore)

According to a newly-obtained recording, the co-pilots called air traffic
control to inform them that the main right wheel of the landing gear had
fallen off. One of the co-pilots said they attempted to land at Raeford and
they “made a hard landing, decided to go around, and at that point, we lost
the wheel.”

While in-flight, one of the co-pilots called Fayetteville Air Traffic
Control for help rerouting to Raleigh-Durham International. You can hear one
of them say “We’ve lost our right wheel – we’d like to proceed to Raleigh
and make a landing.”

During the conversation, one of the men from the plane said they had enough
fuel to fly in the air for another four hours before having to land. Someone
eventually responded, “Quick question, how do you intend to land at
Raleigh-Durham?” The response from one of the men was, “Get as low as we can
and I guess we’re going to put it on the belly.”

In a later radio call with officials, the pilot of the plane said his
co-pilot, Charles Hew Crooks, had jumped from the plane without a parachute.

Multiple first responders headed to the airport after the plane landed on
the runway. The pilot was taken to the hospital, where officials said he was
okay.

It’s still unclear why Hew Crooks fell from the plane. Local and state
officials are now working with the National Transportation Safety Board and
the Federal Aviation Administration, both of which are now leading the
investigation.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

https://www.wral.com/23-year-old-pilot-who-fell-from-plane-died-while-pursing-his-dream-of-flying-his-father-says/20396343/

23-year-old pilot dies while pursuing his dream of flying, his father says
Tags:

RDU Airport, emergency landing

Posted July 30, 2022 11:10 a.m. EDT
Updated July 31, 2022 10:13 p.m. EDT

By Adam Owens, WRAL reporter; Maggie Brown, WRAL multiplatform producer

Fuquay-Varina, N.C. — Charles Hew Crooks had been working for years toward
the moment he could become a professional pilot in Raleigh. According to his
father, Hew Crooks, he was a flying fanatic who had always wanted to take to
the skies.

"I don’t know," said Hew Crooks. "We can’t process it right now, I don’t
know."

Hew Crooks mourned the sudden loss of his oldest son Saturday.

"He pursued his private pilot license while he was in college. I think he
got that when he was a sophomore,"Hew Crooks said. "He said a couple weeks
ago, he wouldn't trade places with anybody in the world. He loved where he
was."