A co-pilot in North Carolina who vanished into thin air had jumped out of a plane to his death, it's been revealed.
On Tuesday, a 911 call was released from two Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) employees of them saying their co-pilot Charles Hew Crooks had reportedly jumped out of a plane before it had to make an emergency landing at Raleigh Durham International Airport on Friday (local time).
According to the New York Post, an air controller in the 911 recording said: "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."
Crooks' body was found in the backyard of someone's home in Fuquay-Varina, North Carolina, around 50km south of Raleigh airport.
The 911 call lasted 13 minutes and Crooks' co-pilot reportedly said he "jumped out without the parachute".
The call also captured the FAA trying to find out what happened.
"I don't know, I don't know. This is the craziest thing ever," the air controller told the dispatcher, the New York Post reported.
The original call from the aircraft was made on Friday afternoon and the plane made an emergency landing around 18 minutes later.
The co-pilot who made the emergency landing was taken to the hospital for minor injuries but was discharged the same day.
The New York Post reported the investigation into what happened with the aircraft is ongoing. It was revealed that the aircraft sustained substantial damage to its landing gear and fuselage, prompting the pilot to ask to make an emergency landing.
