Authorities are investigating the death of a co-pilot who exited his aircraft midflight Friday over North Carolina.
The body of Charlie Hew Crooks, 23, of Raleigh, was found in a tree in the Raleigh suburb of Fuquay-Varina after he either fell or jumped from the plane, according to multiple reports.
He fell about 3,500 feet without a parachute. Authorities haven’t determined if Mr. Crooks died before he exited the aircraft.
“I believe this was a first for many of us that were working this incident today,” Darshan Patel, chief of operations for Wake County Emergency Management, said of Mr. Crooks’ death on Friday, according to WRAL-TV.
Mr. Crooks’ co-pilot was making an emergency landing at Raleigh-Durham International Airport around 2:40 p.m. Friday after he reported that one of the plane’s wheels in its landing gear had come off.
He was taken to the hospital with minor injuries. The small cargo plane was badly damaged.
The Federal Aviation Authority and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating.
Fuquay-Varina police did not say if it is being treated as a criminal investigation.
• Matt Delaney can be reached at mdelaney@washingtontimes.com.
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