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Co-pilot jumped from plane before emergency landing at Raleigh airport, FAA says

Two FAA employees at Raleigh-Durham International Airport told 911 dispatchers that the surviving pilot reported his co-pilot jumped before an emergency landing.

RALEIGH, N.C. — Two Federal Aviation Administration employees in the Raleigh-Durham International Airport Tower told the Raleigh-Wake County 911 dispatcher that the surviving pilot reported his co-pilot jumped out of a plane last week before making an emergency landing.

The body of Charles Hew Crooks, 23, was found the evening of July 29 in a Fuquay-Varina backyard, hours after the plane landed at Raleigh-Durham International Airport. Crooks was one of two pilots on the CASA 212-200 airplane.

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“This is from Raleigh Airport," an FAA employee said in a recording obtained Tuesday by WRAL News. "We have a pilot who was inbound to the field. His co-pilot jumped out of the aircraft. He made impact to the ground and here are the coordinates.”

"He said he jumped out of the aircraft," an FAA employee said. "His co-pilot jumped out without the parachute so he might have impact to the ground."

Click here to read more from WRAL.

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