Copilot ‘Jumped’ From Raleigh-Bound Aircraft:

The pilot of a CASA C-212 Aviocar 200 that made an emergency landing at Raleigh (RDU) International Airport in North Carolina last week reportedly told the tower his copilot jumped from the plane at 3500 feet about 14 miles from the airport. The new information was contained in a recording of a 911 call placed by FAA employees in the airport tower. “We have a pilot who was inbound to the field. His copilot jumped out of the aircraft. He made impact to the ground and here are the coordinates,” one of the tower employees tells the 911 dispatcher. The body of Charles Hew Crooks, 23, was found about four hours later in a Raleigh suburb.

Police and federal authorities have not released further details on the circumstances of incident. The unidentified pilot of the CA-212, a small turboprop cargo aircraft, headed for Raleigh after the right landing gear of the plane was damaged while operating at a small airport south of Raleigh.

The CASA CN 212-200 Aviocar, N497CA, veered off the runway during landing on runway 23L at Raleigh/Durham Airport, NC (RDU), USA.
The aircraft operated on a flight out of Raeford West Airport, NC. The aircraft developed problems with the fixed right-hand landing gear (seemingly a loss of the wheel) and headed towards RDU.
As it was flying over the Fuquay-Varina neighborhood at 4000 feet at 14:31, the co-pilot jumped off or fell from the aircraft, causing fatal injuries.
Flight tracking websites show that the aircraft continued to RDU, making a low pass over runway 23L at 14:43 hours local time before circling for an approach and landing. During landing, the aircraft swung off the side of the runway to the right, coming to rest in the grass.

Aircraft Information:

Airline/Operator: Spore Ltd / Rampart Aviation

Aircraft: CASA C-212 Aviocar 200

Registration: N497CA

Serial Number: 291

Engines: 2 Garrett TPE331-10R

First Flew: Oct 1983