NTSB releases final report in case of pilot’s fatal fall from plane before RDU emergency landing

MORRISVILLE, N.C. (WNCN) — A final report conducted by the National Transportation Safety Board shed a little more light on the day in which Charles Crooks fell out of an aircraft on July 29, 2022, moments before an emergency landing at Raleigh-Durham International Airport.

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However, the report left a big question unanswered — did Crooks fall or did he jump?

The report stated, “Although the PIC and operator reported that the SIC’s departure from the airplane was an intentional act, there was insufficient information to support that assertion.”

CBS 17 spoke to CBS News Transportation Safety Analyst and former NTSB Chairman Robert Sumwalt about the report.

“If you’re dealing with something where you may be implying that someone intentionally took their life it could be very sensitive,” Sumwalt said. “So, the NTSB wants to make sure they get it right before they call it, and in this case, they did not have enough information to positively say one way or the other.”

On July 29, 2022, a twin-engine CASA Cn-212 Aviocar made an emergency landing at RDU after the main right wheel fell from the plane.

Crooks and an unnamed pilot in command (PIC) took off from the Rocky Mount/Wilson Airport at 11:52 a.m. and landed at Raeford West Airport at 12:34 p.m. The NTSB report stated that the pilots were returning to the airport to pick up another group of skydivers, with Crooks as the pilot flying.

The PIC indicated that the approach was stabilized until the plane descended below the tree and encountered a windshear. Crooks initiated a go-around but before a climb was established, the right main landing gear hit the runway surface before it fell off.

The pilots declared an emergency and requested to divert to a larger airport. The PIC flew the plane and Crooks communicated with air traffic control, according to the report.

About 20 minutes into the diversion, the pilot reported that Crooks became visibly upset following the hard landing. During this time, the PIC told investigators that Crooks opened his side cockpit window and lowered the ramp in the back of the airplane, indicating that he was going to be sick and needed air.

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The PIC said Crooks looked at him and said he was sorry, got up from his seat, removed his headset, and ran out of the airplane through the aft ramp door. The PIC notified the controller that Crooks had just jumped out the back of the airplane without a parachute.

In a statement to investigators the pilot in command said Crooks “ran out the back of the airplane in a head first dive.”

“So that could be some indication, but it could have been that he somehow or another tripped,” Sumwalt said.

Investigators spoke to Crooks’ father, who told investigators his son was “extremely happy” and “loved to fly.” He said it didn’t make sense because his son was “in a fabulous state of mind” before the flight.

Crooks’ father also said his son could be tough on himself.

NTSB investigators spoke to employees at Rampart Aviation, nothing in the final report a company pilot said Crooks once had a “disproportionate, intense emotional and physical reaction upon becoming worried that he had lost a fuel payment card.”

CBS 17 asked the NTSB for an interview with an investigator, but a spokesperson said the report serves as its final statement.

Crooks’ body was found in a neighbor’s backyard in Fuquay-Varina.

An autopsy report listed the cause of death as multiple blunt force injuries, and the manner of death was ruled an accident.

The NTSB said the accident was caused by the airplane’s encounter with windshear during landing, which resulted in a hard landing and separation of the right landing gear. The report also said the accident was caused by Crooks’ decision to leave his seat during the flight, which resulted in his fall from the airplane.

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The full NTSB report is below: