‘WITHOUT THE PARACHUTE’

Co-Pilot Who Fell From Plane ‘Jumped,’ Air Traffic 911 Call Shows

“This is the craziest thing I’ve ever dealt with,” an air traffic controller told the dispatcher.

A 911 call made by air traffic controllers said a young co-pilot “jumped” to his death after exiting his plane during a mid-flight emergency last week, WRAL reports. Charles Hew Crooks, 23, was found dead in a backyard last weekend after plunging from the skies over Raleigh, North Carolina. The aviator did not have a parachute when he exited the CASA CN-212 Aviocar, which went on to make an emergency landing at Raleigh-Durham International Airport in Morrisville. “This is from Raleigh Airport,” a Federal Aviation Administration employee can be heard saying in a recording of the 13-minute 911 call, according to WRAL. “We have a pilot that was inbound to the field. His co-pilot jumped out of the aircraft.” They add: “His copilot jumped out without the parachute so he might have impact to the ground.” The air traffic controller also tells the dispatcher: “This is the craziest thing I've ever dealt with.”