Authorities are left baffled after a man either fell or jumped to his death from a plane on Friday, July 29th. The cargo plane was approaching the Raleigh Durham Airport (RDU) due to a landing gear malfunction when air traffic control revealed that someone had “jumped” from the plane. 

Man Found Dead After Falling From Plane

Before the CASA C-212 Avioca made an emergency landing, one of the two pilots reported that they had lost a wheel while trying to land at a smaller airport and, as such, were making an emergency landing at RDU. But that’s just when things turned weird. 

A 911 call from the Raleigh-Durham Airport air traffic controller reveals some of the chaos.

“We have a pilot that was inbound to the field. His co-pilot jumped out of the aircraft. He made impact to the ground and here are the coordinates.”

Here is footage of the plane’s emergency landing

Who was Charles Crooks? 

The man, identified as Charles Crooks, was later found in the backyard of a home around 38 miles due south of the RDU airport in the Fuquay-Varina area of the Raliegh-Durham metropolitan area. Authorities say the plane was around 3,500 feet in the air when Crooks fell from the plane. He had no parachute, making the probability that he would survive the fall nearly impossible. 

National Transportation Safety Board & Federal Aviation Administration officials have yet to determine if the fall was deliberate or an accident. 

Charles Crooks was a 23-year-old amateur pilot and instructor based out of the Raleigh-Durham area. Crook’s father said Charles was an experienced pilot who was living his dream as a commercial aviator. 

Did He Jump? Was He Pushed? Was It An Accident?

Authorities initially said that Crooks “jumped” from the plane, based on the 911 phone call.

Authorities have not revealed why Crooks left the plane or if he did it voluntarily. We will keep you updated.

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