Charles Crooks: Autopsy reveals North Carolina pilot accidentally fell to death after opening hatch to throw up
RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA: Officials have declared the death of a North Carolina pilot who suddenly fell from a small plane while throwing up during a turbulent emergency landing is an accident. On July 29, 23-year-old Charles Hew Crooks was complaining about feeling sick when the 1983 CASA C-212 aircraft was approaching Raleigh-Durham International Airport.
Following the fatal fall, WRAL obtained the results of an autopsy, which "concluded that the decedent had gone aft, likely to vomit from the open ramp, and accidentally fall from the aircraft." Crooks was flying for a private company that was dropping skydivers in a small area with another pilot. During the flight, the aircraft's landing gear malfunctioned, requiring the pilot in command to inform air traffic control of a course adjustment. The plane experienced turbulence, and Crooks said to the pilot that he was not feeling well, according to the autopsy report, Daily Mail reported.
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The report reads, "They were flying at approximately 3500 feet with the rear ramp open for ventilation. The aircraft encountered moderate turbulence." Crooks is thought to have then proceeded toward the open ramp to vomit when he collapsed and died. "At some point, the decedent (copilot) opened a cockpit window for ventilation and possibly to vomit. Sometime after, he told the pilot that he felt he was going to be sick and apologized. He then departed the cockpit towards the open rear ramp; at some point, the pilot realized that he had apparently fallen from the aircraft."
In the town of Fuquay-Varina, Crooks' body was discovered in a backyard without a parachute. Daily Mail reported he did not have one. Previous reports stated that Crooks became furious "about 20 minutes into the diversion to RDU, after conducting approach and emergency briefings." In August, an audio clip of two unidentified Federal Aviation Administration workers notifying a 911 operator that the damaged plane was on its way to the airport was leaked in August. According to a report, the pilot on board reportedly told them that his co-pilot had "jumped out of the aircraft."
According to The Sun, a controller told the 911 dispatcher, “We have a pilot that was inbound to the field. His co-pilot jumped out of the aircraft. He made an impact on the ground and here are the coordinates.” The call lasted about 13 minutes, with the controllers stating several times that the co-pilot had jumped. The initial 911 call, according to Wake County Emergency Management Chief of Operations Darshan Patel, was what sparked the search for Crooks. According to early data acquired by the National Transportation Safety Board, the aircraft's landing gear and fuselage received significant damage.
Crooks was later discovered dead in Fuqua-Varina, roughly 30 miles south of the airport. According to the Federal Aviation Administration through NBC News, the twin-engine CASA CN-212 Aviocar made an emergency landing in a grassy area at Raleigh-Durham International Airport around 2.40 pm. He had been working as a flight instructor for roughly a year before losing his life.