A pilot leapt to his death in a shocking turn of events after he damaged the plane’s landing gear, and his last words to his co-pilot are nothing short of heartbreaking.

An investigation was launched following an incident that saw Charles Hew Crooks jump out of a plane when he was second in command during a flight to North Carolina in July 2022.

The twin-engined CASA CN-212 Aviocar had been transporting skydivers when it ‘dropped’.

As a result, the aircraft’s landing gear hit a runway, according to a report into the incident from the National Transportation Safety Board.

The National Transportation Safety Board has released a preliminary report into the death of Crooks.

Charles Hew Crooks, 23, did not have a parachute, and his body was found in a backyard in the town of Fuquay-Varina.

Crooks was ‘visibly upset’ after a landing issue. (Brown-Wynne Funeral Home)

The audio recording has Crooks’ co-pilot saying: “We have lost the right wheel. We’d like to proceed to Raleigh and make the landing in Raleigh”, ahead of Crooks jumping.

He testified that Crooks’s last words before he jumped out of the plane were ‘I’m sorry’.

The preliminary report stated that Crooks became ‘visibly upset’ 20 minutes after he had damaged the plane’s landing gear.

The pilot in command added that Crooks said he was going to be sick and needed some air, lowered the ramp of the airplane and then ran out.

Following Crook’s jump, an audio clip of the other pilot explaining the bizarre situation has been released.

The pilot can be heard saying: “My copilot just ran out the back of the plane.”

The reply is a rather stunned ‘he just did what now?’, which prompts the pilot to repeat his message.

Crooks was visibly upset after damaging the plane according to the report (WRAL)

There is a pause before the operator asks: “So, you don’t have a co-pilot no longer, sir?”

“No he just jumped out the back of the plane.”

There is another pause before the pilot asks: “Would you like me to circle where he left at?”

The operator says to continue on, before asking: “Did you need something else?”

The pilot says: “No this dude literally jumped out the back of the plane without a parachute.”

While Crook’s co-pilot said that the jump was intentional, the report argued that there was ‘insufficient information to support that assertion’.

Laurent Bert-Roussel, a pilot who trained with Crooks years ago, spoke to WRAL and commented on the situation, noting his surprise.

He said: “I could not really believe that Charlie could decide to jump out of an aircraft which is basically what, committing suicide?

“Just because of an incident in an aircraft. In this situation, as second in command he is basically not responsible as far as the FA is concerned.”

The father of the First Officer who died in last month’s devastating plane crash in Washington is calling for changes to aviation laws.

On January 29, an American Airlines commercial plane and a US army helicopter collided with one another at Ronald Reagan International Airport, near Washington D.C.

There were 67 people in total on both aircrafts, all of whom died in the ordeal, making it America’s deadliest air disaster since 2001.

One of the deceased was 28-year-old First Officer Sam Lilley – one of the pilots on American Airlines Flight 5342.

His father, Timothy Lilley, has now spoken out and said that Sam was ‘doing great’ in both is career and personal life, with him having been reportedly set to be married.

Timothy served 20 years in the army flying Black Hawk helicopters, which was the same type of aircraft that collided with the American Airlines plane on that fateful day last month.

With his flying experience and Sam’s tragic passing in mind, Timothy is now calling for changes to aviation laws.

Sam Lilley was a first officer flying the American Airlines plane last month (Timothy Lilley/Fox News)

One change he wants brought in is to stop military aircrafts from operating at civilian airports, as well as revamping training for pilots and requiring aircraft to have an operational Traffic Alert and Collision Avoidance System (TCAS) while inside Class B airspace.

As it stands, military aircraft are not required to be equipped with TCAS when flying in Class B airspace, says Timothy.

Timothy’s calls come after new information about what may have caused the crash was recently revealed.

Giving an update on the investigation on Friday (February 14), National Transportation Safety Board Chairman Jennifer Homendy said: “We are looking at the possibility of there may be bad data.”

One of the pilots reportedly thought they were at 400 feet, and the other thought they were at 300 feet.

Wreckage from American Airlines flight 5342 seen being pulled from the Potomac River (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

Hemendy continued: “In addition to this, the transmission from the tower, that instructed the helicopter to go behind the plane, may not have been heard by the crew the pilot may have keyed her radio at the same second and stepped on the transmission from ATC.”

Elsewhere, it’s been revealed that the army helicopter had its Automatic Dependent Surveillance–Broadcast (ADS-B) turned off at the time of the collision, said Texas Senator Ted Cruz.

The ADS-B is a type of technology that enables an aircraft to broadcast their position, altitude, speed, and other data to ground stations and other aircraft.

Cruz went on to argue that ‘there was no national security reason for ADS-B to be turned off’ on the military helicopter.

As you can imagine, being an undercover FBI agent isn’t exactly for the faint-hearted, as it can be a dangerous and life-threatening job.

While most people at work can make a few mistakes and, at worst, risk getting chewed out by their boss, those who work undercover with dangerous criminals don’t exactly have that luxury.

In fact, one wrong move while operating undercover could jeopardize a major operation into US criminal hate groups and terrorist organizations, as well as cost you your life. No pressure then…

But former FBI agent Scott Payne made it through more than 23 years in the business, leaving him with some chilling war stories – and boy, did he have some stories.

Speaking to UNILAD, Payne remained humble and insisted that any job in law enforcement comes with its stresses and dangers.

Scott Payne has worked with the FBI for over 23 years and had some chilling stories about his work (Scott Payne)

Due to the nature of his operations, he, of course, couldn’t divulge how the FBI’s undercover teams do some of the things they do to catch criminals. Still, he could recall one particular daunting situation he found himself in.

Also detailed in his recent book, Code Name: Pale Horse, which follows Payne’s risky decision to infiltrate one of the US’s ‘most dangerous’ Neo-Nazi group, Payne recalled an undercover mission that saw him staring at the business end of a shotgun, with his life on the line.

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Payne further revealed that the person holding the gun demanded that he take a hit of cocaine to prove he wasn’t law enforcement, and to make matters worse, he also threatened Payne with the most chilling sentence.

Setting the scene of his undercover drug operation, Payne said: “I’m sitting here. It gets to the point where he’s sitting on a table in front of me.

Scott’s quick thinking likely saved his life (UNILAD)

“I’m on his couch, he’s on a coffee table and he’s got a double barrel shotgun, hammer’s cocked back and he’s already told me, ‘If I find out you’re the law, you’re a dead man’, he repeated it multiple times.

“He’s like, ‘try it, try it’, and I already told him, ‘man I don’t do this’.

“He’s got an open bag of cocaine in my face, close to my face and he’s got a red bone hound and it’s in my crotch and growling.”

With pressure at its highest, Payne continued to talk, hoping to diffuse the situation while also keeping up his cover – a difficult task while you’re wondering if you’re ever going to leave the room alive again.

Payne explained that a quick bit of sleight of hand allowed him to convince the guy with the gun that he had taken a hit of the cocaine.

Scott was able to defuse the situation with some cunning ‘sleight of hand’ (Scott Payne)

He said: “I told him I got a heart condition, I got anxiety, I’m not doing any damn cocaine. What I did do, is just something I came up with in my head.

“I dip my finger in [the cocaine] and I came up you know and I just did a sleight of hand thing. I mean, I had a big beard.

“I got [acted] p***ed and was like ‘are you happy now?’, and then he immediately calms down and he’s like ‘hey let me take you back to the back and let me show you where all the drugs are at’.”

And just like that, through quick thinking, Payne was able to make it out of the situation alive and continue his operation undetected.

More than a lucky break if you ask me!

All six people on board a medical jet that crashed in Philadelphia yesterday have died.

Around 6:30pm local time yesterday (January 31), a Jet Rescue Air Ambulance left Northeast Philadelphia Airport, but was only airborne for a minute before crashing into a residential area.

The six passengers on the plane included a child patient, their mother, and four crew members.

People had feared the worst when it came to the passengers’ well-being, and it’s now been confirmed that there were no survivors.

Confirming the sad news, Philadelphia Mayor, Cherelle Parker, said in a statement, as per BBC News: “A devastating plane crash occurred in Northeast Philadelphia near Roosevelt Mall at Cottman and Bustleton Avenues on Friday evening, January 31, 2025, at approximately 6:10 pm.

“A private Learjet 55 – a medical transportation jet – departing from Northeast Philadelphia Airport with two passengers, a mother and daughter, and four crew members were killed in the tragic crash.”

The statement adds that jet was in the air for ‘only a minute before it crashed’.

Roads surrounding the crash site are thought to remain closed (Kyle Mazza/Anadolu via Getty Images)

In the wake of the jet crashing into a residential area, people on the ground have also been injured in the devastating ordeal.

“Many people on the ground – in parking lots, on streets, in cars and homes in the area – were injured,” the statement went on.

The mayor’s office did not confirm how many were injured, but other reports have said that six were taken to hospital for treatment, three of whom have since been released.

Yesterday’s fatal crash marks the second to have occurred in North America in recent days.

On Wednesday night (January 29), an American Airlines plane collided with an army helicopter, causing both to crash into the Potomac River.

Another fatal plane crash occurred in Washington DC earlier this week (Al Drago/Getty Images)

The two aircraft were carrying 67 people between them: 60 passengers, four crew members, and three army soldiers.

Heartbreakingly, no one survived the ordeal and police are continuing to recover bodies.

At the time of writing, 41 bodies are said to have been pulled from the river so far.

Officials are banking on the two black boxes that were on the aircraft to work out how the crash happened.

Many people who were onboard the plane and helicopter have already been identified, but the US Army has not named the Black Hawk pilot at the family’s request.

Meanwhile, Staff Sgt. Ryan Austin O’Hara and Chief Warrant Officer 2 Andrew Loyd Eaves have been named as two of the three soldiers who were on the helicopter.

If you have experienced a bereavement and would like to speak with someone in confidence, contact GrieveWell on (734) 975-0238, or email info@grievewell.com.