A mishap that happened with a CASA C-212 twin-engine turboprop light cargo plane has again made headlines, but this time with some recordings from the pilot and the air traffic controller at Raleigh-Durham International Airport. You must remember how the co-pilot jumped out at the back of the aircraft when the pilot was trying for an emergency landing as a result of the subsequent damage to the main landing gear. As a result of this, the audio recordings revealed some inquisitive details about the incident, which were followed by the death of the co-pilot, who jumped off the plane without a parachute.
The aircraft in question, C-212, with a registration code M497CA, comes under the contractor named “Rampart Aviation” and is registered to the company known as “Spore Ltd LLC.” On July 29, the aircraft with the call sign “Shady 02” initiated a touch-and-go procedure and then diverted back to the Raleigh-Durham International Airport due to the failure of the main landing gear. As a result of this rough landing, the pilot of the aircraft succumbed to some minor injuries, which were then treated afterward. The co-pilot, named Charles Hew Crooks (a 23-year-old male), however, was found dead in Wake Country, North Carolina as per the subsequent investigation reports.
You can listen to the audio itself here. The conversation is as follows:
Pilot (P): “Raleigh Approach, Shady 02.”
Raleigh Approach (RA): “Shady 02, Raleigh”
P: “My co-pilot just ran out the back of the plane.”
RA: “Shady 02, what now?”
P: “He just ran out the back of the plane.”
RA: “So you don’t have a co-pilot on you, sir?”
P: “No, he just jumped out the back of the plane.”
RA: “Uh, roger.”
P: “Would you like me to circle where he leaped at?”
RA: “Uh, say that again?”
P: “Would you like me to circle where he got out at, or you got me on track?”
RA: “We’ve still got you on track, but did you need something else?”
P: “No, the dude literally jumped out the back of the plane without a parachute.”
*Seven seconds of total silence*
RA: “Shady 02, did you need to do something else, circle or something, or-“
P: “No, I need to land. I’m just making you aware you’re gonna have a dead body out where I just called you at. He just jumped out the back of the plane.”
RA: “Roger, continue on your heading 0-5-0.”
P: “Roger, 0-5-0, 0-2.”
In the heat of the moment, the employees of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) called 911 in order to rescue the pilot. However, after the incident occurred, The Drive contacted Rampart Aviation regarding the incident but didn’t get a satisfactory response. Coupled with this, the pictures of the C-212 released recently showed that the missing landing gear has now been replaced after maintenance checks, and it seems like the aircraft is all operational.
On the other hand, the FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board are making efforts to investigate the cause of the incident. Along with this, police that reached the airport as soon as the incident occurred collected the details and handed them over to the investigation authorities, as reported by WRAL-TV.