A man either fell out of a plane mid-flight or jumped during an emergency landing on Friday in North Carolina.
In the middle of the afternoon, near Raleigh, NC, a twin-engine plane landed in the grass, managing to reach Raleigh-Durham International Airport, after having called in for an emergency landing due to an issue with landing gear.
There were two people on the plane when it took off, but only the pilot was onboard when the plane landed. He suffered minor injuries from the emergency landing.
Emergency responders found a body of a man that was believed to be the co-pilot of the plane after a search of the area in Fuquay-Varina, which is about 15 miles from Raleigh. He was found in a residential backyard.
The co-pilot, identified as Charles Hew Crooks, 23, left the plane without a parachute, according to the Fuquay-Varina Police Department. Authorities believe his body fell about 3,500 feet.
“I believe this was a first for many of us that were working this incident today,” Wake County Emergency Management chief of operations Darshan Patel said of the death, according to WRAL.
Investigators don’t know what happened that caused Crooks to leave the plane.
The father of the deceased pilot told NBC affiliate WRAL of Raleigh that his son had worked many years to achieve his dream of becoming a pilot. He desperately wants to know what led to his son’s tragic death.
Both the Federal Aviation Authority and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating.