North Carolina pilot ACCIDENTALLY fell out of plane, autopsy finds trends now
A North Carolina pilot who mysteriously fell from a small aircraft, after he'd opened a hatch to throw up during a turbulent emergency landing, has had his death ruled an accident, officials say.
Charles Hew Crooks, 23, had been complaining that he'd felt unwell as the 1983 CASA C-212 aircraft began to descend toward Raleigh-Durham International Airport on July 29.
An autopsy obtained by WRAL after the deadly fall 'concluded that the decedent had gone aft, likely to vomit from the open ramp, and accidentally fall from the aircraft.'
Crooks had been flying with another pilot for a private company that had been dropping skydivers in a small field.
During the flight the aircraft encountered an issue with its landing gear, prompting the pilot in command to notify air traffic control to change course.
The plane encountered turbulence and Crooks told the pilot he was not feeling well, the autopsy report read.
Charles Hew Crooks (pictured), 23, who mysteriously fell from a small aircraft, after he'd opened a hatch to throw up during a turbulent emergency landing, has had his death ruled an accident, officials say
The small cargo plane, a 1983 CASA C-212 Aviocar, was forced to make an emergency landing at Raleigh-Durham International Airport after losing its right wheel during a previous landing attempt
A report from the National Transportation Safety Board, said Crooks 'got up from his seat, removed his headset, apologized and departed the airplane via the aft ramp door'
'They were flying at approximately 3500 feet with the rear ramp open for ventilation. The aircraft encountered moderate turbulence,' the report said.
Crooks is believed to have then walked toward the open ramp to vomit when he accidentally fell to his death.
'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.'
At the time of the incident, Crooks did not have a parachute, and his body was found in a backyard in the town of Fuquay-Varina.
Earlier reports revealed the pilot told investigators that Crooks had become upset 'about 20 minutes into the diversion to RDU, after conducting approach and emergency briefings.'
In August, an audio recording of two unnamed Federal Aviation Administration employees telling a 911 dispatcher that the damaged plane was heading to the airport was released.
The pilot onboard had apparently told them at the time that Crooks had 'jumped out of the aircraft.'
'We have a pilot that was inbound to the field,' a controller told the 911 dispatcher, according to the audio file.
Crooks' father said that flying was his son's 'lifelong dream.' He said his son was a former flight instructor and was certified to
