Featured Image Credit: YouTube/WRAL5
Topics: News, US News, Mental Health
Gerrard Kaonga
A pilot leapt to his death in a shocking turn of events after he damaged the plane’s landing gear, and his last words to his co-pilot are nothing short of heartbreaking.
An investigation was launched following an incident that saw Charles Hew Crooks jump out of a plane when he was second in command during a flight to North Carolina in July 2022.
The twin-engined CASA CN-212 Aviocar had been transporting skydivers when it 'dropped'.
As a result, the aircraft's landing gear hit a runway, according to a report into the incident from the National Transportation Safety Board.
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The National Transportation Safety Board has released a preliminary report into the death of Crooks.
Charles Hew Crooks, 23, did not have a parachute, and his body was found in a backyard in the town of Fuquay-Varina.
The audio recording has Crooks’ co-pilot saying: “We have lost the right wheel. We’d like to proceed to Raleigh and make the landing in Raleigh", ahead of Crooks jumping.
He testified that Crooks’s last words before he jumped out of the plane were ‘I’m sorry’.
The preliminary report stated that Crooks became ‘visibly upset’ 20 minutes after he had damaged the plane’s landing gear.
The pilot in command added that Crooks said he was going to be sick and needed some air, lowered the ramp of the airplane and then ran out.
Following Crook’s jump, an audio clip of the other pilot explaining the bizarre situation has been released.
The pilot can be heard saying: "My copilot just ran out the back of the plane."
The reply is a rather stunned 'he just did what now?', which prompts the pilot to repeat his message.
There is a pause before the operator asks: "So, you don't have a co-pilot no longer, sir?"
"No he just jumped out the back of the plane."
There is another pause before the pilot asks: "Would you like me to circle where he left at?"
The operator says to continue on, before asking: "Did you need something else?"
The pilot says: "No this dude literally jumped out the back of the plane without a parachute."
While Crook’s co-pilot said that the jump was intentional, the report argued that there was ‘insufficient information to support that assertion’.
Laurent Bert-Roussel, a pilot who trained with Crooks years ago, spoke to WRAL and commented on the situation, noting his surprise.
He said: “I could not really believe that Charlie could decide to jump out of an aircraft which is basically what, committing suicide?
“Just because of an incident in an aircraft. In this situation, as second in command he is basically not responsible as far as the FA is concerned.”