Co-Pilot Jumped Out Of Airborne Plane Before Emergency Landing: Report

FUQUAY-VARINA, NC — A co-pilot jumped out of a plane before it made an emergency landing last week, according to WRAL, which obtained a recording of a 911 call made by Federal Aviation Administration workers at the Raleigh-Durham International Airport.

The call, during which the jump was discussed, was placed about 2:30 p.m. Friday and the CASA 212-200 plane landed 18 minutes later with damage to its fuselage and landing gear, WRAL reported. The co-pilot, 23-year-old Charles Hew Crooks, was found dead with no sign of a parachute about 7 p.m. in the backyard of a Fuquay-Varina residence during an 80-person search, according to WRAL, which reported the National Transportation Safety Board has taken over the death investigation.

Read more from WRAL.