Fuquay-Varina, NC — Authorities say they have found the body of a man who may have jumped or fallen from a plane before it approached Raleigh-Durham International Airport for an emergency landing after experiencing trouble with its landing gear. Late Friday night, police identified the man as 23-year-old Charles Hew Crooks, who was the plane’s co-pilot. Crooks, who was not wearing a parachute, was found near Sunset Lake Road and Hilltop Needmore Road in a Fuquay-Varina neighborhood. First responders from more than half a dozen agencies searching on the ground and in the air along the plane’s flight path. “There’s no precedent for this, it was based on training,” said one responder. Crooks was wearing tan pants and a shirt with a logo, according to Wake County Emergency Management Chief of Operations Darshan Patel. A resident flagged down officers searching the area after claiming he “heard something in their backyard,” Patel said. The search began around 2:30 p.m. near West Lake Middle School, but eventually moved into a residential area in Fuquay-Varina. They found Crooks around 6:45 p.m., when officials say firefighters helped move his body to a place where it could be safely transported. According to the FAA, two people were on board the plane when it took off. However, an RDU spokesperson told WRAL News that only the pilot was on board when it made its crash landing. The pilot, whose name was not immediately released, was taken to Duke Hospital with minor injuries, RDU said. A WRAL pilot captured video of the plane – a twin-engine turbo – skidding off the runway and onto the grass at RDU when it landed. Local police are reviewing the plane’s flight path, radio traffic and working with the FAA to determine what happened. The plane, which is owned by SPORE LTD LLC., is a small 10-person plane.
Emergency landing recorded by camera
Video taken by a WRAL Sky 5 pilot shows the plane skidding off the runway, where it spins in a partial circle before coming to a stop, where several fire trucks and paramedics can be seen waiting. The airport at RDU was temporarily closed until the scene was secured. Runway 5R-23L will remain closed until further notice. “I saw a whole crowd of people looking out the window on the jet bridge and then I saw this propeller plane on the grass across the runway and some emergency vehicles,” said Simon Palmore, who witnessed the turbulent landing of the plane and shared photos. on Twitter, Hermang Pathak, another witness, said the RDU airport played an announcement saying departures would not be affected. A witness, who was in a plane circling over RDU at the time, said the pilot delayed his landing, saying there was “terror” at the airport.
