In 2022, the co-pilot of a CASA C-212 suddenly jumped out of the plane for some unknown reason that remains one of the most mysterious incidents in history. Now, an audio conversation between the pilot and the air traffic controller has surfaced, revealing the moment the unsettling incident occurred. Charles Hew Crooks, the co-pilot, who was only 23 at the time, lost his life after he jumped out of the plane.
His body was later recovered from a backyard in a locality in Fuquay-Varina, southwest of Raleigh.
For most of us, the job of flying a plane is exciting. However, the opportunity comes with immense challenges, some of which could even pose fatal risks to the pilots and co-pilots. Before taking up the job professionally, these individuals go through months of extensive training. However, despite being prepared, what happens in the air always remains unpredictable.
The incident of Crooks shocked the world. Almost 3 years later, the audio between the air traffic controller and the pilot of the twin-engine turboprop light cargo aircraft has finally been released to public, revealing some shocking details.
On June 29, 2022, the call came through the control at Raleigh-Durham International Airport in the United States. The audio clip circulated through social media revealed the pilot explaining how the co-pilot did something unpredictable. The CASA C-212 was missing a main landing gear wheel before the plane made an emergency landing.
“My co-pilot just ran out of the back of the plane,” the pilot told the controller at the Raleigh-Durham airport. “Shady 02, what now?” asked the control officer.
The pilot responded with, “He just ran out of the back of the plane.” “So you don’t have a co-pilot on you, sir?” the controller asked to confirm. “No, he just jumped out of the back of the plane,” the pilot at the CASA C-212 reiterated.
Extraordinary recording from pilot whose co-pilot jumped out the back of a plane without a parachute. pic.twitter.com/CFdo1dDkWa
— Concerned Citizen (@BGatesIsaPyscho) July 25, 2024
The plane was then suggested to circle back, but the pilot, whose name wasn’t disclosed, emphasized, “The dude literally jumped out of the back of the plane without a parachute.” He stated that he was just informing the air traffic that they’re gonna “have a dead body out where he just called them.”
While Crooks’ body was recovered, why he took such an unsettling decision remains a mystery. The autopsy report revealed that he had suffered multiple blunt force trauma due to the “accident fall.”
NBC reported that the North Carolina Chief Medical Examiner’s office stated that the 23-year-old “had no significant natural disease.” In addition, his “‘toxicological testing detected no alcohols or common drugs of abuse.”
The investigation report stated, “They were flying at approximately 3500 feet with the rear ramp open for ventilation. The aircraft encountered moderate turbulence. At some point, the decedent (co-pilot) opened a cockpit window for ventilation and possibly to vomit.
Sometime after, he told the pilot that he felt he was going to be sick and apologized.”
“He then departed the cockpit towards the open rear ramp; at some point, the pilot realized that he had apparently fallen from the aircraft.”
