A 911 call has revealed that a pilot who mysteriously disappeared while flying in the US actually "jumped" out of the plane before it made an emergency landing.
The co-pilot of Charles Hew Crooks, who seemingly vanished in midair, reported that he leapt out of the plane because it was damaged, according to two Federal Aviation Administration employees.
Pilot Mr Crooks, who was later found dead, reportedly jumped out at Raleigh Durham International Airport in North Carolina, USA, reports WRAL.
An FAA air traffic controller said on the recording: “This is from Raleigh Airport. “We have a pilot who was inbound to the field.
"His co-pilot jumped out of the aircraft. He made impact to the ground and here are the coordinates."
The 23-year-old's body was found a short time after his disappearance in a garden in Fuquay-Varina, North Carolina. It was discovered roughly 30 miles south of the airport.
During the 911 call, which lasted about 13 minutes, an employee of the FAA said Mr Crooks' co-pilot reported he “jumped out without the parachute, so he might have impact to the ground.”
An FAA employee said: “I am sure the pilot is going to be shaken up. I have no idea. He literally just said, ‘My pilot just jumped out.’”
On the recording, you can hear FAA staff panicking and try to figure out what happened to Mr Crooks.
An FAA employee told a dispatcher: “I guess at this point in time, all we can do is recovery.
"I don’t know. I don’t know. This is the craziest thing ever.”
The initial 911 call was made at around 2.30pm on Friday (July 29), as the Wake County Emergency Management told WRAL.
Aircraft CASA 212-200 then did an emergency landing around 18 minutes after the call.
Darshan Patel, Wake County Emergency Management chief of operations, said to WRAL: “Once the aircraft had landed, it was reconfirmed based on a report the pilot said the person in the aircraft had exited the aircraft prior to landing."
Mr Crooks' co-pilot, who is not being named, did go to hospital for minor injuries after the landing but he was discharged later that day.
The tragic pilot was employed by Rampart Aviation, based in Colorado, according to his LinkedIn account.
It adds that Mr Crooks was a certified flight instructor and he has taught clients at the FlightGest Academy in North Carolina.
Hew Crooks, Mr Crooks' father, said he can't process what's happened to his son.
"We can't process it right now. I don't know," he said when WRAL asked if he knew any more about his son's last moments.
An ongoing investigation has been launched to find out more about what happened to Mr Crooks.
The National Transportation Safety Board has taken over it. A first looks suggests the plane's landing gear and fuselage was damaged quite signficantly, causing the pilot to ask to make an emergency landing.
Rampart Aviation, which employed the Mr Crooks and his co-pilot has not responded to any enquires on what happened.
