A 911 call captures a pilot recounting the dramatic moment when their co-pilot exited the plane while it was still in mid-air.
Charles Hew Crooks was serving as the second-in-command on the aircraft during a flight in North Carolina, USA, on July 29, 2022.
The CASA CN-212 Aviocar, equipped with twin engines, had been carrying skydivers when it experienced a sudden drop.
As a consequence, the aircraft’s landing gear struck a runway, as reported by the National Transportation Safety Board.
Crooks subsequently declared an emergency, informing air-traffic controllers of the need to divert to another airport for an emergency landing.
Approximately 20 minutes later, Crooks appeared to become noticeably agitated during the flight.
An August 16, 2022, report stated that the co-pilot was ‘visibly upset about the hard landing’.
Communication with air traffic controllers at Raleigh-Durham International Airport then ceased from Crooks’ end.
He opened a window in the side cockpit while the plane was at an altitude of 3,500 feet, with the commanding pilot suggesting that he ‘may have gotten sick’.
The co-pilot then lowered the ramp at the back of the aircraft and indicated his need for air.
The report then details the subsequent events, noting that Crooks ‘got up from his seat, removed his headset, apologized, and departed the airplane via the aft ramp door’.
At that moment, the aircraft was about 30 miles south of Raleigh-Durham International Airport.
Notably, Crooks did not have a parachute with him.
The chilling audio has now surfaced, revealing the main pilot’s recount to a 911 operator.
In the call, the pilot states: “My copilot just ran out the back of the plane.”
The operator responds, clearly taken aback, with ‘he just did what now?’, prompting the pilot to repeat his statement.
After a brief pause, the operator inquires: “So you don’t have a co-pilot no longer sir?”
“No, he just jumped out the back of the plane.”
Following another pause, the pilot asks: “Would you like me to circle where he left at?”
The operator advises the pilot to continue on his route, asking: “Did you need something else?”
The pilot responds: “No, this dude literally jumped out the back of the plane without a parachute.”
He continues: “I need to land, I’m just making you aware you’re gonna have a dead body out where I just called you at. He just jumped out the back of the plane.”
The incident report states: “The PIC stated that there was a bar one could grab about 6 ft above the ramp; however, he did not witness the SIC grab the bar before exiting the airplane. The PIC then turned the airplane to the right to search for the SIC.
“In a radio transmission to air traffic control about 1 ½ minutes after the SIC’s radio acknowledgement of the course heading, the PIC notified air traffic control that his copilot had departed the airplane without a parachute.
“The PIC proceeded on course to RDU, where he performed a low-approach and then emergency landing.
“Upon landing, the airplane departed the right side of the runway and came to rest upright in the grass. Post-accident examination of the airplane revealed substantial damage to the RMLG, landing gear fittings, and the airframe structure where the fittings attach.”
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