Friday, July 29, 2022

CASA C-212-200 Aviocar, N497CA: Fatal accident occurred July 29, 2022 at Raleigh-Durham International Airport (KRDU), Morrisville, Wake County, North Carolina

This is preliminary information, subject to change, and may contain errors. Any errors in this report will be corrected when the final report has been completed. 

Investigator In Charge (IIC): Spencer, Lynn

The National Transportation Safety Board did not travel to the scene of this accident.

Additional Participating Entity:
Federal Aviation Administration / Flight Standards District Office; Greensboro, North Carolina

Spore Ltd LLC


Location: Raeford, North Carolina 
Accident Number: ERA22LA348
Date and Time: July 29, 2022, 14:04 Local 
Registration: N497CA
Aircraft: C A S A 212 
Injuries: 1 Fatal, 1 None
Flight Conducted Under: Part 91: General aviation - Skydiving

On July 29, 2022, about 1404 eastern daylight time, a Casa 212-200, N497CA, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Raeford, North Carolina. The pilot-in-command was not injured, and the second-in-command sustained fatal injuries during the subsequent diversion to the Raleigh-Durham International Airport (RDU), Durham, North Carolina. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 skydiving flight.

The pilot-in-command (PIC) reported that they flew two skydiving runs then descended to the Raeford West Airport (NR20), Raeford, North Carolina, to pick up a third group of skydivers. The second-in-command (SIC) was flying the approach to NR20 and was “on heading, altitude and airspeed” until the airplane descended below the tree line and “dropped.” Both pilots called for a go-around maneuver, which the SIC initiated; however, before the SIC could arrest the airplane’s sink rate and initiate a climb, the right main landing gear (RMLG) impacted the runway surface. The PIC assumed the flight controls upon the airplane reaching 400 ft agl, then flew a low approach over NR20 to have airfield personnel verify damage. The personnel subsequently called the PIC to let him know that they recovered the fractured RMLG on the runway. The PIC directed the SIC to declare an emergency and request a diversion to RDU for landing.

While enroute to RDU, the crew coordinated with air traffic control, operations, and their customer, and planned their approach and landing at RDU, with the SIC responsible for communicating with air traffic control while the PIC flew the airplane. The PIC reported that there was moderate turbulence during the flight, and that about 20 minutes into the diversion to RDU, after conducting approach and emergency briefings, the SIC became visibly upset about the hard landing. Review of preliminary air traffic control radio communication information from the Federal Aviation Administration indicated that the SIC had been communicating with air traffic control up to that point in the flight. In his final transmission, the SIC acknowledged a course heading from air traffic control. The PIC described that about this time the SIC opened his side cockpit window, and “may have gotten sick.” The PIC took over radio communications, and the SIC lowered the ramp in the back of the airplane, indicating that felt like he was going to be sick and needed air. The PIC stated that the SIC then got up from his seat, removed his headset, apologized, and departed the airplane via the aft ramp door. The PIC stated that there was a bar one could grab about 6 ft above the ramp; however, he did not witness the SIC grab the bar before exiting the airplane. The PIC then turned the airplane to the right to search for the SIC. In a radio transmission to air traffic control about 1 ½ minutes after the SIC’s radio acknowledgement of the course heading, the PIC notified air traffic control that his copilot had departed the airplane without a parachute. The PIC proceeded on course to RDU, where he performed a low-approach and then emergency landing. Upon landing, the airplane departed the right side of the runway and came to rest upright in the grass.

Postaccident examination of the airplane revealed substantial damage to the RMLG, landing gear fittings, and the airframe structure where the fittings attach.

The airplane was retained for further examination.

Aircraft and Owner/Operator Information

Aircraft Make: C A S A 
Registration: N497CA
Model/Series: 212 200 
Aircraft Category: Airplane
Amateur Built:
Operator:
Operating Certificate(s) Held: On-demand air taxi (135)
Operator Designator Code: 3RAA

Meteorological Information and Flight Plan

Conditions at Accident Site: VMC 
Condition of Light: Day
Observation Facility, Elevation: HFF,376 ft msl 
Observation Time: 13:56 Local
Distance from Accident Site: 13 Nautical Miles
Temperature/Dew Point: 33°C /25°C
Lowest Cloud Condition: Scattered / 4200 ft AGL
Wind Speed/Gusts, Direction: 7 knots / , 330°
Lowest Ceiling: Broken / 6000 ft AGL 
Visibility: 10 miles
Altimeter Setting: 29.98 inches Hg 
Type of Flight Plan Filed: VFR
Departure Point: Raeford, NC 
Destination: Raeford, NC

Wreckage and Impact Information

Crew Injuries: 1 Fatal, 1 None
Aircraft Damage: Substantial
Passenger Injuries: 
Aircraft Fire: None
Ground Injuries: N/A 
Aircraft Explosion: None
Total Injuries: 1 Fatal, 1 None
Latitude, Longitude: 35.030556,-79.236667 (est)

Aircraft landed hard and lost tire, Fuquay-Varina, Wake County, North Carolina.

Date: 29-JUL-22
Time: 20:29:00Z
Regis#: N497CA
Aircraft Make: C A S A
Aircraft Model: CN 212-200
Event Type: ACCIDENT
Highest Injury: FATAL
Total Fatal: 1
Aircraft Missing: No
Damage: UNKNOWN
Activity: UNKNOWN
Flight Phase: LANDING (LDG)
Operation: 91
City: FUQUAY-VARINA
State: NORTH CAROLINA

Those who may have information that might be relevant to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigation may contact them by email witness@ntsb.gov, and any friends and family who want to contact investigators about the accident should email assistance@ntsb.gov. You can also call the NTSB Response Operations Center at 844-373-9922 or 202-314-6290. 

A North Carolina man who fell from an airplane in July has had his death ruled accidental by the North Carolina chief medical examiner.

Charles Hew Crooks was co-piloting a CASA C-212-200 Aviocar when he lowered the plane’s rear ramp to “get some air” due to feeling ill.

Crooks “got up from his seat, removed his headset, apologized and departed the airplane via the aft ramp door,” the examiner said.

Early reports on Crooks’s death alleged that he had jumped from the plane.

The new report has ruled he is believed to have “accidentally fallen from the aircraft” while vomiting.

Crooks was just 23 years old at the time of his death.

CHARLES HEW DALRYMPLE CROOKS
August 15, 1998 - July 29, 2022
~


Born in Lima, Peru on August 15, 1998. Died in a flying accident on July 29, 2022, in Raleigh, North Carolina. 

Raised in Fairfield, Connecticut, Charlie attended Osborn Hill Elementary School and Roger Ludlowe Middle School. After completing his freshman year at Fairfield Ludlowe High School, he made the brave journey across the continent to Mill Bay, British Columbia to complete his high school education at Brentwood College School, his father's alma mater. He was admitted to Bucknell University, graduating in May 2020 with a BA in Political Science.

Charlie had numerous interests and talents. Several weeks each summer were spent at his grandparents' cottage on Gloucester Pool, where he honed his unique swimming style of bobbing with chin partially submerged. While he loved the water, Charlie lacked the necessary buoyancy to pursue swimming as a sport. Instead, he had the great fortune to meet Master KJ Ha of World Champion Tae Kwan Do in Fairfield. Through many years of dedication on the part of both master and student, Charlie was proud to achieve his second-degree black belt.

Leaving home for boarding school required a leap of faith, but Brentwood provided the environment in which Charlie truly began to excel academically, physically, artistically, and socially. He joined the cross country running club and was proud after much dedication to move "from the shame of being stuck in the slow group to feeling confident as a solid member of the medium-slow group." He tried his hand at rowing, competed on the debate team, and perhaps most importantly learned from his band of brothers in Rogers House to give and receive true friendship and to have confidence in his unique gifts. His time at Brentwood culminated in the ultimate honor of being elected by his classmates to give the valedictorian speech for the class of 2016. Delivered with his trademark combination of self-deprecation and sly wit, his final moments at Brentwood were spent walking from the stage wearing a giant smile, to an explosion of cheers and a standing ovation. At Bucknell, Charlie joined the Bison Battalion, Bucknell's chapter of ROTC, completed Basic Camp at Fort Knox, founded the Bucknell chapter of Young Americans for Liberty, competed on the ski team, and discovered a gift for art and sculpture.

Aviation was Charlie's overriding passion practically from birth. He read every flight book he could get his hands on and was known occasionally to wear one on his head for transcranial absorption of knowledge. As a young teenager, he built an actual flight simulator and developed a love for flying remote control planes, but the real fun began when he took his first flying lessons at Three Wing Aviation in Stratford, CT. He continued his training throughout college in Williamsport, PA, soloing in August of 2017. Facing a complete lack of demand for pilots during the early phase of the pandemic, Charlie doggedly, yet cheerfully, pursued his dream of becoming a professional pilot, earning various advanced ratings and qualifying as a Commercial Pilot and Certified Flight Instructor before landing a job in May 2021 as a flight instructor at Flightgest Academy at the Raleigh-Durham Airport. He was greatly admired by his students and colleagues for his teaching style. His celebrated whiteboard drawings made even the most complex concepts both humorous and easy to understand; many have been photographed and preserved by his fellow instructors. In April 2022, Charlie accepted his dream job as a First Officer with Rampart Aviation, a specialist contractor primarily conducting support operations for the Department of Defense. He was very proud of the company and pleased to announce to his family that he had earned the nickname "Tuna," signaling his full acceptance as part of the Rampart team. When not on the job, Charlie fused his love for art, technology, and aviation, producing custom designed, 3-D printed components that he shipped to other flight simulator enthusiasts around the world.

The resume of Charlie's life could never fully describe the legacy he leaves. He was guided always by a strong moral compass; a fierce love for and loyalty to his family and friends; and a heart that was open and forgiving. He gave everyone a chance. His sense of humor was legendary – the far side of The Far Side. As a boy, he insisted on being the Batmobile in proud and practical support of his younger brother's and sister's Batman and Robin for Halloween. Charlie reveled in the eclectic, with a taste in music that ranged from bossa nova to King Gizzard and the Wizard Lizard. Without guile or affectation, he nonetheless enjoyed putting on a suit for wine night with friends, sometimes with trademark aviator glasses and empty pipe, an inside joke. This spring he used his new regular paycheck to purchase a reliably unreliable 1978 Fiat convertible. He spent many hours and more than a few dollars trying to keep the car roadworthy while avoiding tetanus.

There was so much joy. Earlier this year he posted an update to friends on Instagram that began "Long time, no life updates so here's the recap," and ended with "This has been a very eventful year, and while there have been challenges, I'm the happiest I've ever been in my life and I wouldn't trade places with anyone in the world." Charlie's wonderful friends in Chapel Hill, aka The Terrace Club, were central to his sense of fulfillment and belonging. Only days before his death, Charlie shared with his parents that he was exactly where he wanted to be doing exactly what he wanted to do. Not many get the chance to live that way.

Charlie is survived by his parents Hew and Kate, brother Crawford (22), his sister Mary (20) of Fairfield, CT, his maternal grandmother Mary Zipser of Savannah, GA and his paternal grandparents Art and Mary Jane Crooks of Lethbridge, Alberta, his aunts Melissa Zipser Murray, Claire Crooks Goodall (George), and uncle Morgan Crooks (Aimee), first cousins Katherine and Elizabeth Murray, Finn, Sydney, Grady, and Tilly Goodall, Riley and Andrew Crooks.

The funeral service will be held on Saturday, August 13th at 11 am at Christ & Holy Trinity Episcopal Church, 75 Church Lane, Westport, CT. A reception will be held in Branson Hall in the church immediately following the service. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be sent to the charity Above the Clouds (abovethecloudskids.org).





Charles Hew Crooks
~

July 4th, 2022:  Charles Crooks (second from right)
~  



RALEIGH, North Carolina (WNCN) — CBS 17 is learning more about the events surrounding a death linked to an emergency landing at Raleigh-Durham International Airport Friday afternoon.

Officials said before the plane landed a man jumped or fell out of a plane without a parachute and died.

That man was identified as 23-year-old Charles Crooks. CBS 17 contacted his father, who shared photos of Crooks.

One included a photo of Crooks flying the exact same model of plane involved in the incident Friday at RDU.

The father told CBS 17 that his son was “very serious” and an experienced, professional commercial pilot.

First responders found Crooks’ body in the Sonoma Springs neighborhood in Fuquay-Varina.

Crooks or the pilot told air traffic control they lost the right wheel of the aircraft as they tried to make their first landing attempt at an airport near Raeford.

They then decided to try to land at RDU.

Hew Crooks, Charles Crooks’ father, said the last time the family visited with his son was when he came up to the family home in Fairfield, Connecticut for the July Fourth holiday weekend.

In addition to currently working as a pilot for Rampart Aviation, Crooks was a flight instructor for a company based at RDU for a year.

Crooks also had an FAA rating to fly the CASA C-212 Aviocar, which was the cargo plane involved in the incident.

Hew Crooks shared of photo of his son flying a CASA C-212 Aviocar, which he said was among a fleet of such aircraft operated by the company Rampart Aviation.

The investigation has shocked and impacted the Fuquay-Varina neighborhood.

“I think that it’s a little traumatic and they were just surprised that it happened so close to home. To my understanding the man was found deep in some foliage in the backyard so the police had to go in deep to find him,” said Barbara Krolak, who lives in the Sonoma Springs neighborhood.

With part of the landing gear missing, the plane skidded off an RDU runway during landing and ended up in grass nearby.

The plane initially had two people on board — Crooks, and the pilot who was taken to a local hospital with minor injuries.

The FAA and the NTSB are working together and are currently assessing damage on the plane and investigating the case.


Charles Hew Crooks

Charles Hew Crooks
Pilot, Second in Command
Rampart Aviation LLC
Chapel Hill, North Carolina
~
"I'm a proud alumnus of Bucknell University, Class of 2020, with a Bachelor's degree in Political Science. I hold a commercial pilot's license with single and multi-engine ratings along with tailwheel and high-performance endorsements. I'm a certified flight instructor and currently work as a pilot for Rampart Aviation, a defense contractor airlift operation."




FUQUAY-VARINA, North Carolina — Charles Hew Crooks had been working for years toward the moment he could become a professional pilot in Raleigh. It was a feat, according to his father, Hew Crooks, who spoke with WRAL News on Saturday morning.

"He pursued his private pilot license while he was in college. I think he got that when he was a sophomore," his father Hew Crooks said. "And then after he graduated during the pandemic, he took advantage at that time even though pilots were all furloughed and things, and he got his instrument rating, his multi-engine rating, his night rating, his commercial rating, high-performance rating, like everything you possibly could have."

His father Hew Crooks said flying was a dream his firstborn son had his entire life, and he was proud that his son had made it a reality.

"He said a couple weeks ago, he wouldn't trade places with anybody in the world. He loved where he was," Hew Crooks said.

On Friday afternoon, the Raleigh-Durham International Airport received a report that a plane made an emergency landing on their runway. The plane was a small 10-person plane. Charles Hew Crooks, the co-pilot, was on the plane when it took off but not when it landed.

"I can't imagine what happened," his father said. "We’ll figure it out, I suppose."

Charles Hew Crooks' body was found in the backyard of a Fuquay-Varina resident. He did not survive the fall from the plane.

The other pilot of the plane safely was able to land the plane and only suffered from minor injuries. Officials said he was released from a local hospital on Friday evening.

"We’re a strong family and we’re a very loving family. But this, it leaves a hole," his father said. "I don't know. We can't process it right now."





The body of a 27-year-old man has been recovered in Wake County, North Carolina. This individual matches the description of someone who appears to either have fallen or jumped from a CASA C-212-200 Aviocar aircraft before it made an emergency landing at Raleigh-Durham International Airport.

The CASA C-212, which carries the civil registration number N497CA, attempted to land on Raleigh-Durham's Runway 5R-23L at approximately 2:40 PM local time, according to WTVD-TV, a local ABC television affiliate. Publicly available recordings of exchanges with air traffic controllers in the area, which you can listen to here, confirm that two individuals were initially on board. The crew can be heard explaining that the plane, which was using the callsign Shady 02 at the time, lost its right main landing gear wheel after what they described as a "hard landing" at Raeford West Airport outside of the city of Raeford to the southwest. They had managed to get airborne again afterward.

After the subsequent emergency landing at Raleigh-Durham, N497CA's pilot was transported to Duke Hospital with minor injuries. The accident is now under investigation by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).

Local media reports say that one of the crewmen, who was not wearing a parachute, was at least initially believed to have exited the aircraft as the plane flew over a body of water near the West Lake Middle School in nearby Apex, North Carolina. Darshan Patel, Operations Manager for Wake County's Emergency Management division, said at a press conference this evening that a resident in the area had flagged down authorities who were taking part in the search efforts to let them know they had heard something fall in their backyard. Sadly, the body was subsequently located and recovered, marking a tragic end to this bizarre incident.

Exactly what the CASA C-212 was doing at the time of the hard landing is unclear. Online flight tracking software shows that it had also made multiple flights today from Rocky Mount-Wilson Regional Airport in neighboring Nash County, North Carolina, and flew various patterns to the southwest of Fayetteville, including near the PK Airpark's West Drop Zone, before the accident.

Technically, the N497CA is registered to a company called Spore LTD LLC, according to the FAA's online database. The company has no real online presence. It is worth noting that its Colorado Springs, Colorado address that is on file with the FAA is the same as another firm called Rampart Aviation. CASA 212 aircraft are part of Rampart's fleet and relatively recent pictures of this particular plane online show it with a Rampart company logo clearly visible on the tail. It is not uncommon for aviation contractors to register their individual aircraft to multiple subsidiaries for various reasons.

In addition, Rampart is known to do contracted work for the U.S. military, including supporting parachute training and test and evaluation activities for U.S. Army airborne units and U.S. special operations forces. The Pentagon announced just in April that U.S. Special Operations Command had awarded new contracts to Rampart and a number of other companies for "military freefall and static line support in various locations across the continental U.S." Fayetteville is home to the U.S. Army's Fort Bragg, the service's main airborne and special operations hub, and PK Airpark and its associated drop zones are routinely used by American troops. This does not mean conclusively that this aircraft belonged to a subsidiary of that firm, but it is certainly noteworthy at this time.

We have reached out to Rampart Aviation for comment. We will update this story as more information becomes available.




Fuquay-Varina Police Department - 

A few moments ago, news media outlets present at the Sonoma Springs Subdivision were provided an update as to the incident we have been investigating for several hours.

Earlier today, surrounding law enforcement and fire service agencies responded to the Sonoma Springs Subdivision with the objective of locating the co-pilot that had exited a plane while in mid-flight.

During the canvass, a resident on Copain Cove approached an officer with the Fuquay-Varina Police Department and provided information regarding the possible whereabouts of the co-pilot.

After further investigation, we were able to positively identify the co-pilot. With the assistance of City-County Bureau of Identification, we were able to identify the co-pilot’s next of kin. The father of the co-pilot located in Fairfield, Connecticut, was notified of the incident.

The co-pilot was identified as 23-year-old Charles Hew Crooks of Raleigh, North Carolina.

NTSB and FAA will be the lead investigative agency and the Fuquay-Varina Police Department will provide support as needed.

At this time there is no further information to provide.




MORRISVILLE, North Carolina - A cargo plane made an emergency landing Friday at Raleigh-Durham International Airport after reporting an issue with the fixed right-hand landing gear, and a search for a person who jumped from it before the landing ended with the recovery of a body, Wake County officials said.

Darshan Patel, the Operations Manager for Wake County Emergency Management Wake EMS said in a 7:15 p.m. briefing that a body matching the description of the missing plane passenger was recovered.

The man identified as Charles Hew Crooks, 23, was found near Sunset Lake Road and Hilltop Needmore Road in Fuquay-Varina.

According to Patel, "There was no indication" that Crooks had a parachute.

"We had officers that were responding in the area for the search and were flagged down by a resident. They had heard something in their backyard which led to us finding this individual," Patel said.

The CASA C-212 Aviocar, made in Spain in 1983 landed on Runway 5R-23L about 2:40 p.m. and veered into the grass.

RDU first responders said that the pilot on board was taken to Duke Hospital with minor injuries.

The pilot told authorities that a passenger aboard jumped out before the landing attempt. The jumper was initially thought to have exited the plane toward a body of water near West Lake Middle School in Apex. Authorities were actively searching that area but later expanded the search to the 3200 block of James Slaughter Road in Fuquay-Varina.

"We have a very large search area," Patel said at a media briefing Friday afternoon.

"At this time, what we know is that the passenger was wearing tan pants and a logo-branded shirt," Patel said. "We don't have the color, but that's all the description we have at this time. We are working with RDU and the FAA and the pilot

Authorities searched from Apex to the Harnett County line and were working to narrow the search field.

Crews launched a drone to help in the search. Cary was one of several jurisdictions involved in the search. Fire, police and EMS personnel also assisted.

Back at Raleigh-Durham International Airport, the airfield was temporarily closed until the scene was secured, RDU officials said.

Runway 5L-23R has reopened while runway 5R-23L will remain closed until further notice.

At least one American Airlines flight (Flight 2693) from Dallas was diverted. Others had delayed landings as a result of the incident.

The plane is owned by Spore LTD LLC in Colorado Springs and took off from Raeford. Efforts to reach Spore LTD and Hoke County aviation officials were unsuccessful.

The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board will investigate the incident.

180 comments:

  1. Wow, this is a tragic one. Way too early to theorize at all, but just looking at the flight track, it looks like they were practicing flight maneuvers. After spending some time over the private unpaved field that they took off from, they headed north and did two high speed steep descents, within a half hour of each other, both losing about the same 10,000 feet in about 3-1/2 mins, exceeding 4,000 fpm descent at times (in a plane that is rated only to 1800fpm max I think?), or at least that's what the ADS-B data shows (I could be reading it wrong).. Maybe they were practicing stalls and recovery? Or a suicidal co-pilot tried to put the plane into the ground. Not fair of me to theorize, but wow... Whatever the story, it doesn't end well. Sad turn of events no matter what.

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    1. This descent profile is typical for skydive operations. This aircraft is typically used for military paratrooper and free-fall school at various locations throughout the USA. I'm not aware of a maximum descent rate published for the Casa 212.

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    2. ah, right... didn't think of that, thanks.

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    3. They could be practicing "sinking" the airplane. Extending flaps and lowering airspeed to safely above minimums for that altitude, and just let gravity take you down. It is a stable way to quickly descend with reasonably low airspeed. Even B-52s dropping the X-15 used to it. If your job involves lots of high altitude ups and downs during the day, like parachute drops, why spend time flying extended descent patterns?

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  2. 1. Was the co-pilot trying to see what was wrong with the "fixed right-hand landing gear" and swept out possibly? 2. If it was a skydive operation, did he think he was wearing a parachute? 3. Was he truly scared and trying to exit and land in the body of water but exited to late to make that drop zone? 4. Did he just freaking panic and think that was the best result for a landing gear issue? 5. It's rarely the case, but was there something else going on in his mind and this was an opportunity …. All I know is that when I saw the news headline, I couldn't believe what I was reading.

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  3. Wow. Just tragic wow. This is a civilian contracted aircraft for training military troop jumpers. It has a ramp in the back like a C-130 for easy egress as seen here in operation from this very aircraft:

    https://www.thedrive.com/uploads/2022/07/29/n497ca-army-test.jpg?auto=webp&optimize=high&quality=70&width=1920

    We pilots just don't think about bailing out of an aircraft where 1) there is no need, and 2) we have no parachute nor easy way out (this guy did). There's something else to this story - a LOT of something else.

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    1. In addition to the ramp this image shows an open door just aft of the wing and gear assembly, where the jumpmaster or some other crew can observe. Is there a corresponding door on the starboard side? If so, I suppose it's not hard to imagine a scenario where F/O leans out in an effort to assess the gear situation.

      Whatever the finding, it's terribly sad given this was ultimately a survivable landing.

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  4. "The crew informed the traffic controllers that the aircraft had lost its main landing gear wheel following a “hard landing” at Raeford West Airport, located southwest of Raeford. After that, they were able to take flight once more." @et

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  5. The Casa 212 is fixed gear. One picture above shows it resting with its tail gate open. Best bet is he went in the back to check on the gear assembly after their hard landing and lost his grip.

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    Replies
    1. This seems to be the most obvious: The Casa 212 is fixed gear. One picture above shows it resting with its tail gate open. Best bet is he went in the back to check on the gear assembly after their hard landing and lost his grip.

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    2. Yes. He may have lowered the tail ramp trying to get a good view of the wheel. He then slipped off the ramp.

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    3. I completely agree. It’s likely he tried to get a better look at the landing gear through the rear door & was swept out.

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    4. I agree. This was a slip and fall while investigating the landing gear.
      I don't know why numerous MSM sites are reporting that he jumped.

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    5. If the off-script plan was to drop the ramp, position yourself there to have a look forward at the gear, tether length may not have allowed him to be down the ramp. A decision to unclip from the tether and belly-crawl on the ramp would set the stage for disaster.

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    6. The pilot may have opened the door for emergency egress.

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    7. if this was a slip and fall while investigating the gear, what ever happened to the old way of a close fly by the tower with a request to observe and report gear status? too conservative. too safe. too old fashioned? what we used to do.

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  6. Likely accidental due to age, inexperience and youthful exuberance. God bless this poor kid, what a great future he had to look forward to.

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  7. Based on flight profile and familiarity of the plane. They had completed the parachute jumping operations at Raeford, which is a high-traffic field for parachute ops, and descended from altitude to land for the next set of jumps. Upon landing, damaged the main gear, and diverted to RDU, where they could get major repairs and wide long runway with fire and rescue. The CASA has side doors to parachute ops which would typically include a web net to secure the opening. Guessing the copilot was in the back inspecting the damage or securing the cabin, either lost his balance or slipped securing the hatch and was swept out of the plane.

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  8. I thought if there was an open door (parachute ops), each occupant had to wear a parachute. (?)

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    1. Its SOP that they are tethered, even with a parachute i think they are still tethered.

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    2. When conducting parachute operations, pilots usually wear a pilot’s rig but there isn’t a FAR requirement, unless STC for a door removal may require one. I always felt it was a good idea. Never can tell when an untimely deployment will send a canopy over the tail.

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  9. My sincere condolences to Charles' family and friends. This was surely a bizarre accident in the true sense (see definition of accident as opposed to crash). I used to fly a Skyvan with a similar rear door and once we had to open it in flight -at night- due to cargo emitting noxious gasses (no harnesses, no parachutes) but fortunately we had a good outcome. As a matter of interest I went to the back to put the offending parcels as close to the door as possible hoping the suction effect would extract the offending gases.

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  10. from Raeford West Airport NR20 to recovery site @ 35°37'40"N 78°43'50"W is 44° (NE) @ 50 mi.
    from 35°37'40"N 78°43'50"W to Raleigh–Durham International Airport KRDU 359° (N) @ 18 mi.
    http://www.gcmap.com/mapui?P=35.627656,-78.7305-KRDU&PC=%23ff0000&RC=%23000080&DU=mi&SU=kts

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  11. Most likely he slipped on the back ramp while trying to get into a better position to lean out and see the right main landing gear. He was not tethered with a safety harness and it was probably very unstable and turbulent. The side doors cannot be opened during flight and the only way to see the gear is by lowering the ramp and crawling out.

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    1. Most likely what happened, and you also cannot see the landing gear by looking out of a window because it is completely obscured by the fairing that covers it. You are correct that the only way to see the landing gear is to crawl onto the lowered ramp, and stick your head outside to look at the landing gear. Very tragic event, my thoughts and prayers go out to the family.

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  12. It wasn't necessary to go to the back of the airplane to try inspect the damage. On the Live ATC recording the runway inspection unit can be heard saying they had found the wheel assembly and would take it to Raleigh.

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    1. What exactly was to be handled differently by whatever result of the visual inspection given they already knew something might be damaged and how much exactly can one assess the extent in enough detail from the open ramp anyway? They already needed and wanted to land with more caution at an airport with adequate RWY, support and winds. Was this about which side/s was/we're damaged and to adjust the technique accordingly? But how sure can one truly assess that from the ramp? Or just curiosity? Is there a specific checklist for that in that aircraft which also calls for that visual inspection?

      Condolences to rhe family and friends.

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    2. Pilot also reported the missing undercarriage to ATC well before the young man exited the aircraft. My guess is that the young co-pilot was in control when the undercarriage was damaged, and after 20 minutes of thinking about his life after the investigation while the senior co-pilot cleaned up his mess, decided that he didn't like the idea of life without flying. He could have been catastrophizing due to his youthful lack of perspective, or there may have been something damning that he knew about, such as intoxicating substances in his blood.

      Delete
    3. According to the Forensic Toxicology Report, no alcohol or drugs were in the deceased's blood (cavity) or urine.

      Delete
    4. @9:19 — About the only thing we can be sure of in this situation is that the co-pilot was a winner and that you are a real loser. That’s about all in this whole situation that’s absolutely sure.

      Delete
  13. Rampart Aviation, I interviewed with this outfit about 10 years ago to fly the CASA 212. I was to pay for air travel to RDU for the interview and Rampart would reimburse me afterwards, they never did. After traveling to RDU, I waited in at the airport for >five hours< for the chief pilot to make his grand entrance, he turned out to be an assclown. The next hour was spent listening to >his< resume and accomplishments as a pilot....of a Lear jet. He regaled me with stories of how he manages the energy of such high performance aircraft. Then he tells me the owner drops the F bomb in every sentence (because he's former military) and the pilots are all hardened war veterans that don't like working with civilians. A real GI Joe outfit from top to bottom is what they have and I should be honored to share space with them.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I had wondered what the CP was like. It takes a young new entrant in the business a few years to learn how to handle an Arsehat cHIEF pilot. I was fortunate in that MOST of my CP’s were great. May he RIP.

      Delete
    2. Sounds like you are describing the typical military contractor and made a good decision not to sign on.

      Delete
    3. Agreed! Unfortunately there is a lot of braggarts, unfriendliness, competitiveness, unfriendliness (twice), uncourtesy, disrespect, in the flying field. An article was written about the unfriendliness at airports. Change subject; many mistakes in the reporting.. wow!! Thirdly, how rediculous is it that no one asked the captain what happened!!

      Delete
    4. There's an (ongoing?) civil suit against Rampart that you can find online. Schwartz v. Rampart Aviation, LLC, et al. The suit is HR-related, so nothing about safety issues or anything like that. But it's a very interesting snapshot of the (alleged) policies and overall climate of Rampart. They actually have a written policy justifying and protecting employees' harsh language... Hmmm...

      Delete
    5. Google "Schwartz v. Rampart Aviation LLC, et al". It's an interesting little peek into what seems to be a (purposely) hostile climate. Rampart actually has a WRITTEN POLICY condoning and protecting the "harsh, etc" language used by employees. I'm a big fan of four-letter words, but not so fond of the macho BS that *seems* to be SOP with these folks :/

      Delete
    6. You gotta' wonder if hostility played a role in this incident/accident. I hope the NTSB looks into this in depth.

      Delete
    7. Wow....read the text of the suit.....sounds like bunch of ex military cowboys....kid was probably terrified if he botched the landing that lost the wheel. The Rampart Bullies should be the new corporate name.

      Delete
    8. Well, if you want to take this into a discussion about psychopathy in the military and its contractors, I could certainly contribute. Not saying that is the case here, and it does exist in many other highly competitive professions and industries. Just saying that part of safety is fully understanding the people you will be working with. Serious narcissism and a total lack of empathy in your employer and coworkers should be red flags to any job applicant and new hire anywhere. Best to pass it up and move on.

      Delete
  14. This is just bad if he indeed just fell out (probably cussing himself all the way down). This is hindsight but they could have just did a flyby and let the tower or ground person make an evaluation. Sad deal.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Odd that they would not just go to KFAY Fayetteville which was 15 miles away with runway 04/22 @ 7709*150ft . Instead they chose to fly all the way to KRDU at 55 miles away and land on runway 23L @ 7500*150ft. Both airports have commercial traffic and emergency services.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. RDU has been the/a Ram base for a very long time. It’s likely the repairs could be made there there more conveniently than at Rayford or Fayetteville. Landing on grass with only one wheel may likely cause the remaining gear assembly to dig into the turf and soil and cause the plane pirouette out of control, strike the prop on the damaged side and thus made the situation worse. Rayford is surrounded by restricted airspace. Flying direct to RDU avoids the coordination and allows the crew to plan and brief an emergency approach. UNC Hospital is a major burn center. In the event (unlikely, I know) of a fire there is that resource. I don't fault the pilot for opting for RDU in these circumstances.

      Delete
  16. "found near Sunset Lake Road and Hilltop Needmore Road in Fuquay-Varina." @ 35.630788, -78.781842.

    Time: 18:32:02 Z
    N497CA ADS-B SPATIAL
    Pos.: 35.630°, -78.782°
    Track: 49.4°
    Groundspeed: 158 kt
    Baro. Altitude: ▲ 3875 ft
    WGS84 altitude: ▲ 3875 ft
    Vert. Rate: 448 ft/min
    and continued NE track to Raleigh–Durham International Airport landing KRDU @ 18:50Z .
    https://globe.adsbexchange.com/?icao=a62a4c&lat=35.628&lon=-78.784&zoom=12.1&showTrace=2022-07-29&leg=4&trackLabels&timestamp=1659119523

    ReplyDelete
  17. I highly doubt the guy jumped out of the aircraft and committed suicide. Moe then likely he went to the back and tried to look at the gear from the aft ramp. Probably due to turbulence bouncing the aircraft from the building thunderstorms in that area.
    If the guy fell off that back ramp, why was he not wearing any safety harness that anchored him to the aircraft and/or a parachute? If they wanted to confirm the Rt MLG was damaged or missing, the could and should have done one of two things. First would have been to call the Tower to report a problem and ask do a low pass to check the Rt MLG. Second, the pilot could have called the airport Tower, reported a suspected problem and they could have asked another pilot flying in the area to check his aircraft for damage. There were thunderstorms building in the area and that would make for some very bumpy conditions. Now I'm hearing that the pilot had reported a hard landing doing touch and goes at the jump school airport, then decided to fly to DRU NC for landing as they had much better conditions and emergency equipment there. This aircraft a CASA CN 212-200 Aviocar, built in 1982 or 83 (First flown in 1983) was built in Spain specifically for skydiving use. The aircraft is 40 years old so a hard landing could have broken the attachment point for the Rt MLG.
    Still there should have been no reason for that Copilot to go back and hang off the aft ramp in rough air and stick his head out in the slipstream to look at the landing gear. Especially with no safety equipment on.
    I have a feeling that the NTSB is going to list the death as an accident due to not following safety standards or gross negligence as this death was preventable. But as too the landing gear coming off, that will be interesting to know why that happened.
    Still it is sad to see someone dying, most likely due to negligence.
    I can't tell you how many times I've heard "But we've always done it that way" and the surprised look on their face when I say "well then you have always been doing it wrong and were just lucky. Until this time"
    People need to start using common sense. No amount of time or someones urgency is worth your life! You are no good to anyone if you are dead. This guy died simply because of stupidity.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The question on the NTSB's lips will be did the captain request the FO to take the actions that led to his death.

      Delete
    2. Unless there was another problem he was checking, there was no reason for him to check the landing gear. Live ATC @22:00 the pilot says we made a hard landing and lost a wheel and P K Airpark responds that the lost wheel assembly had been found and would be taken to the airpark. The co-pilot should have heard this communication.

      Delete
  18. Asking another pilot to fly next to your aircraft for an inspection went out of style, after 2 aircraft doing just that (Helicopter + Piper Aerostar) collided and killed all aboard both ships as well as playground schoolchildren below , back in the 80’s

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That collision killed US Senator John Heinz

      Delete
  19. "The pilot in command (PIC) of an aircraft is the person who is in charge of the aircraft and is the final authority over all operations and safety throughout the flight.
    Under the United States Federal Aviation Regulations 91.3: "Responsibility and authority of the pilot in command", the FAA (federal aviation administration) declares:
    The pilot in command of an aircraft is directly responsible for, and is the final authority as to, the operation of that aircraft.
    In an in-flight emergency requiring immediate action, the pilot in command may deviate from any rule of this part to the extent required to meet that emergency.
    Each pilot in command who deviates from a rule under paragraph (b) of this section shall, upon the request of the Administrator, send a written report of that deviation to the Administrator.
    The FARs don’t say specifically what the pilot is commanding. It just says that he is in the command of the aircraft. They do not say whether he must be controlling the aircraft or if he is controlling the people on the aircraft. This has been a subject of controversy ever since the creation of the rules."
    further discussion @ https://www.paramountbusinessjets.com/aviation-terminology/pilot-in-command.html

    ReplyDelete
  20. There's old pilot and bold pilots but not old bold pilots. Cliche but here if indeed this was a preventable accident and inadvertent exit from an aircraft trying to assess the damage by sticking your head out with no safety harness or attachment or parachute of any kind on you, it is inexcusable and a lapse in safety mindedness that violates the very essence of being an airman. Of course my condoleances to family and friends of the deceased but Aviation is like that. Unforgiving of carelessness or any sort of door open to Murphy's law. By quantum attractors if you leave room of any kind for misfortune in this field... it will 100% happen.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. As the conversation goes…

      #2 Where did you learn to make such good decisions?

      #1 Experience.

      #2 Where did you get your experience?

      #1 Bad decisions.

      … and hopefully we learn from others.

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    2. We must learn from others mistakes. Non of us have the time or luck to make them all ourselves.

      Delete
  21. Pilots are “fixers”. It’s difficult to accept that there is something we can’t fix and this gets us into trouble. UA 173, EA 401 come to mind. There was also a little reported incident at Evergreen in the late 80s where a Captain of a DC-9 went back to investigate a pressurization problem (the aft bulkhead hatch was left off by MX). He died from hypoxia.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The DC-9 hypoxia death happened in spite of the Cap'n taking an O2 bottle with him:
      https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/22923/pdf

      Delete
  22. They just reported a landing hard enough it broke the right main gear off. The gear assembly was found by another plane. This was the co-pilot's first real flying job after flight instructing. The start of his dream career. If he just made the rough landing, he was likely concerned about his future employment as a professional pilot after an incident like that. No clue if he fell out while trying to visually inspect the gear or if it was something else. But any discussion about mental health is always shunned with pilots, sadly. It is an instantaneous way to lose your flight medical. Hopefully this wasn't the case. If he fell out while trying to do a visual inspection, I would be very curious about the standard procedures and safety culture at Rampart Aviation - especially considering the comments about the operator. They routinely flew with the ramp open. What was the policy on crew being tethered when walking near the ramp, etc. Will have to wait until the statement from the pilot who landed the plane becomes public, if it does.

    ReplyDelete
  23. Charles Crooks: Recovery Location

    In CBS 17 news images, a Fuquay-Varina ladder truck is parked in the 5100 block of Copain Cove, Fuquay-Varina, NC.
    It's approximate coordinates are 35°37'49.98"N, 78°46'45.30"W.
    It's ladder extends westward, between houses, toward the trees in which Charles Crooks was found and recovered.

    source:
    title: Body identified in plane crash
    by: CBS 17
    published: Jul 29, 2022
    link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=48W9o88v4qc&t=107s

    ReplyDelete
  24. News media have the 911 call-- you can listen to it. The call's purpose was for FAA people to give coordinates for first responders to begin the search for his body. They said the pilot told them the co-pilot jumped from the plane. The word used was 'jumped', not 'fell'. So very sad.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. If you felt you had anything to do with him falling out, such as requesting or ordering him to take a look or even unloading some g to give him a little scare, you would use the word jumped also.

      Delete
  25. 'jumped' is PICs opinion.
    did he witness the voluntary ramp 'jump' from his front left seat?
    maybe an PIC order to check the damages from the ramp!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. A simple pilot interview can determine whether there was a declaration "I'm going to jump" and whether there was fear expressed about the upcoming emergency landing.

      Delete
    2. Given Rampart's reputation, one must wonder if they have told the PIC to keep his f*****g mouth shut regarding the details.

      Delete
    3. Only two people know and one of them is dead.

      Delete
    4. Two people know what happened neither is talking. 🤐

      Delete
  26. I think many 23 year old males would volunteer to go take a look. "I'll be fine!" I probably would have. I did volunteer to go check a door, due to a warning light, in a Lear 55 at altitude. I realized the stupidity of that idea before the captain had a chance to say "absolutely not!".
    Maybe the captain did tell him to stay put, but he went anyway. Who knows? We will probably not know the truth, unless there was a functioning CVR, which is not likely. If the captain DIDN'T tell him to sit tight, and there was a CVR, I'm sure the erase button got bumped, accidentally.

    ReplyDelete
  27. CVR on Casa 212 has been utilized to sort out other incidents, such as this example from 1998:
    https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/45505/pdf

    ReplyDelete
  28. The glaring omission in this event is the name of, or any reference to, the captain.
    There is information involved that will never be made public.

    ReplyDelete
  29. Read an article yesterday that he had told a friend the chief pilot was coming the next day (day of accident) to give him a check ride and perhaps promote him to captain. Given the known harsh environment that existed at Rampart, can one imagine the tongue lashing he would have gotten if he was PIC when the landing gear was ripped off.....may have been enough to put him over the edge believing his career was ruined before it began. The total blackout of the identity of the chief pilot is more than suspicious.

    ReplyDelete
  30. Have not read all the comments yet..... I'm curious as to the injuries to the pilot. Are the injuries a result of the hard landing and emergency landing? What was the relationship between the crew members?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Far more questions than answers. Due to HIPAA, the hospital cannot release any information without the patient's consent, and he is apparently saying as little as possible which simply make the incident seem more nefarious. As I posted above, a friend of Crooks told him the chief pilot would be flying with him for 2 days to evaluate him for a promotion to Captain, so I would assume the relationship was brief and that of check pilot and "student". We may not little more until the NTSB''s preliminary report. Rampart and the pilot cannot stonewall it or the FAA

      Delete
  31. At this point we are assuming that the F/O was PF and pranged the landing where the wheel parted.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. "assuming that the F/O was PF" from evidence you can share with US !

      Delete
    2. Recent stories make it appear Crooks was on a check ride with the chief pilot of Rampart. It would theu stand to reason Crooks was doing all of the PIC duties during the check ride. One would hope an experienced Chief Pilot would not wipe out a landing gear during a routine landing.

      Delete
    3. @ zoominfo "John Early, Chief Pilot at Rampart Aviation
      John Early is a Chief Pilot at Rampart Aviation based in Colorado Springs, Colorado." Last Update 7/28/2022 2:19 AM.

      Delete
  32. Many jump planes have a camera trained on the exit door or exit ramp of the aircraft. Wonder if there is footage?

    ReplyDelete
  33. NTSB investigation "In Work" File # ERA22LA348 No preliminary report yet.

    ReplyDelete
  34. chatter from SHADY02 and KRDU https://soundcloud.com/user-390657974

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I couldn't find a "second source" for this; it's quite an incredible thing if true.

      Delete
    2. hfs! Sounds like distraught suicide. Heard some rumors this was a chief pilot administering a check ride. Maybe the deceased pranged the landing, lost the gear, and figured that’s it for his career?

      Delete
    3. I had published that he had told a friend the day before that he would be flying with the chief pilot for 2 days for evaluation for promotion to captain. This is unconfirmed but make logical sense. The absolute silence regarding the chief pilot's name, statements, why he was hospitalized all point to some form of cover up.

      Delete
    4. Why not provide a link for your published claim that you "Read an article yesterday that he had told a friend..." Let everybody read that mysterious article asserting Chief Pilot check ride that can't be found anywhere by searching.

      Delete
  35. Operator with rough and tumble cultural reputation inexplicably hires a non-military background pilot who lists a Bachelor's degree in Political Science (American Politics) in LinkedIn profile. Pilot makes a mistake, panics. Other pilot takes over but is unable to calm him or stop sequence of events that unfolded.

    Consider the investigatory process if it were true that a "gonna jump" declaration was verbalized. If there was observed social-emotional demeanor while employed there and/or personal history that fits with a jump, public statements at early stage of investigation that detail observed and spoken state of mind as things occurred aren't likely to be released.

    ReplyDelete
  36. Wow. Lots of "toss'em under the bus" statements or abject fantasies. I've seen accidents enough times to know that the simplest answer will be the final answer. They broke the gear. Opened the aft hatch to look at the damage without a rig or chute because pilots are action oriented. Tragedy ensued. See you in a year when the NTSB finishes up.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Guess you didn’t listen to the convo where the pilot said “No, the dude literally jumped out of the back of the plane without a parachute.”

      Delete
    2. Wow.....the simplest answer will be the answer. THEY broke the gear...so both were PIC during the accident landing ? "Pilots are action oriented" to do stupid acts ? See you in a year. Arrogant much ?

      Delete
    3. Ok FACTS ? Why nothing regarding the identity of the "other pilot" No official statement, no unofficial statement by him or Rampart Aviation....why the cover up of "simple" facts ?

      Delete
    4. Facts.....well well, seems that the initial NTSB report disputes your "simplest answer" theory. "You'll see" Indeed we are.

      Delete
  37. Audio recording of pilot telling ATC the co-pilot jumped https://soundcloud.com/user-390657974

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for the link. This does not sound like a slip and fall.

      Delete
  38. That ATC chatter with the ‘SoundCloud’ link sounds like it was embellished a bit. The clips lifted from the aircraft transmissions may be authentic, but the guy portraying the Air Traffic Controller is no master thespian.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Really? Sounds like he was a controller who didn’t quite grasp what he was hearing until the pilot spelled it out “without a parachute.” It’s a parachute drop plane and this is an extremely unusual circumstance. The line of questioning absolutely fits someone who isn’t quite getting it because there’s nearly zero frame of reference until the pilot elaborates.

      Delete
    2. OMG....exactly what we need in this discussion. A deep fake conspiracy theorist

      Delete
    3. Dang … if the recording is legit I guess that removes the assumption part.

      Delete
    4. So much for the glamor of an aviation job. Ya didn’t need to do that. RIP

      Delete
  39. From the stress in his voice you can tell they were very close friends.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I disagree. I think they barely knew each other. Maybe a check ride or something. “The dude literally jumped out of the back of the plane without a parachute” is not something a close friend would say.

      Delete
    2. Exactly....Crooks had told a friend the day before the chief pilot would be flying with him for 2 days to evaluate him for promotion to Captain.

      Delete
    3. The unverified "Chief Pilot check ride" story needs a link. Otherwise, it's stuck in the realm of "my sister's ex-boyfriend's father's uncle knows someone at the jump field that says yada yada...."

      Delete
    4. It was presented as hearsay.....Had I known it would be subjected to such scrutiny, I would have certainly published the link but even that is not empirical proof that the conversation took place. Im not prone to concocting stories out of thin air, ergo, I was simply posted what I had read. Take it for what may be worth and forgo the lecture.

      Delete
    5. @JWC - You don't seem to realize the appearance generated by your comment sequence. The original anonymous comment and no-link statement "Read an article yesterday..." began here:
      http://www.kathrynsreport.com/2022/07/casa-c-212-200-aviocar-n497ca-accident.html?showComment=1659876748667#c1113496397313175591

      More anon comments followed, introducing "the cover up":
      http://www.kathrynsreport.com/2022/07/casa-c-212-200-aviocar-n497ca-accident.html?showComment=1660048135547#c6346380195089747398

      If sister's ex boyfriend's dad says they heard something, you obviously can't provide a link, but don't be surprised at scrutiny after starting a story with anonymous no-link posting "Read an article yesterday...", escalating it to introduce "the cover up" and continuing even now to avoid revisiting the article to bring the link, all while protesting being "lectured".

      The NTSB prelim says nothing about any check ride, but your comment sequence has subjected Rampart to your suggestion of a "cover up", extended further by other comments naming and attempting to place the Chief Pilot on board. Might want to go find that story again and save the link and a copy in case Rampart comes asking you what your intentions were.

      Delete
  40. Best media coverage to date https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/my-copilot-just-ran-out-the-back-of-the-plane-chilling-audio-from-aerial-incident-near-fort-bragg/ar-AA10rXdg?li=BBnb7Kz

    ReplyDelete
  41. ilot (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 leapt 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."

    ReplyDelete
  42. Chief pilot may be John Early or Jeff Craig. (Could be mistaken, of course.)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. https://www.signalhire.com/profiles/john-early%27s-email/128108305

      Delete
    2. More likely Jeff Craig given he resides in NC. https://rocketreach.co/jeff-craig-email_168711788

      Delete
  43. Suicide is never rational and you have no idea of his mental state, if in fact he was PIC when the gear was ripped off, especially if on a check ride with a chief pilot from a company know for verbally abusing, suspending and firing 1 or more employees, Scroll back up and google the law suit against Rampart.

    ReplyDelete
  44. Many years ago as a depressed teen I considered it. After thinking how it would affect my mother for the rest of her life I abandoned the idea and decided to stick out the hard times. Things got better

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I don't know about anybody else, but I'm personally glad you 'stuck it out' and are around to read this blog and publish your comment. Thanks for that.

      Delete
    2. Yeah I don't know anybody who is being honest with themselves that hasn't had some really rough patches, coupled with impulsive decisions in a young person.

      He may not have "meant" suicide but clearly made an irrational or certainly inadvisable act, deliberately opening door etc. I know some depressed pilots that deliberately took flights into thunderstorms and survived, but it was kind of a suicidal gesture... we need to remove the stigma.

      Delete
  45. Any lawyer worth their salt would have advised the pilot and Rampart not to talk to the news media outlets.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Why ? He with nothing to hide, hides nothing. What liability could the pilot possibly face. The ATC audio is already public knowledge and the genie wont fit back into the bottle. Interested in you legal insight.

      Delete
    2. Think logically. Wrongful death lawsuit may eventually be filed naming pilot and Rampart as responsible. Depositions with answers to structured questions will then be recorded in a formal setting. You don't have to be an attorney to understand that there is no benefit in making unnecessary public statements at this point in the process.

      Delete
    3. My comment was partially rhetorical and sarcastic. Now that the NSTB prelim has been released, suicide seems the most likely conclusion. If the PIC berated Crooks for the botched landing and damage (Rampart has a reputation for "tough military talk") and I assume the family will indeed retain legal council. Lacking a CVR however, only the PIC knows exactly what occurred in the cockpit and verbal abuse will be difficult to prove. There are however many rather sketchy details in the NTSB report at this juncture.

      Delete
  46. Unlike most of you I’m not a pilot but I have a few questions.
    If the landing gear was damaged in a rough landing why did they head back into the air?
    Trying to interpret the flight logs it appears the plane was on the ground for several minutes before it took off on the final flight to rdu. Is that correct and how would that square with the hard landing story?
    Would the flight profile with the dives from over 13,000’ to below 700’ be consistent with a supply drop of some sort?
    Has anyone seen anything anywhere to even suggest he would freak out? He was young but seems like a very qualified pilot with with flight simulator experience that surely included problems such as gear failure.
    Does anyone else think rampart looks like a very “spooky” kind of outfit?
    Thanks for any insight you can provide.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. https://flightaware.com/live/flight/N497CA/history/20220728/2354Z/KMEB/KMEB

      Delete
    2. Read the NTSB preliminary report. Yes, Rampart has a reputation for "tough military talk"

      Delete
    3. As to the question, does Rampart look very spooky. I read you Lima Charlie. I was at Bragg & you can safely assert "Spooky". When you jump from NON military aircraft, you are TX for a SMALL target with BIG implications. It ain't for QRF. This young man was already exposed to ROTC & "military language" & stress & high personal goals & standards, so he didn't fit the bill as a fatalist or a softy. Just b/c the pilot repeated "he just jumped" doesn't invalidate the questions; could he have been sucked out, or even pushed? There is much NOT being said. I'd like to wait for toxicology 1st. But, SOMETHING in my gut says "very spooky" and SOMETHING this young man was privy to & didn't want to play along with. The report at least implies there was a Parachutist who exited before the landing. This whole story stinks to high heaven.

      Delete
    4. “Unlike most of you I’m not a pilot but I have a few questions.”

      Hopefully by now with the NTSB preliminary being published, most of your questions have been answered. Your question of whether or not this Company is a “spooky” outfit will take some serious investigation by the Feds. Personally, not knowing a thing about them but having read the comments on here from guys who do have such knowledge and, from being an airline pilot for 35 years, this DOES sound like an outfit with some supervisory pilots who have issues. The cavalier sounding voice of the PIC as well as the brevity of his answers to ATC when explaining that “the dude jumped out of the plane” tells me something about his state of mind. While I tend to be someone who tends to keep my emotions under control when things start to unravel in an airplane, I do not think I would be that “matter of fact” in my voice if I had to tell ATC that my copilot had just leaped out of the airplane to his certain death. But that’s just my personal opinion. YMMV.

      Delete
    5. You're correct to note just how unusual it is to have someone so young flying for a soft cover contractor with highly sensitive missions as part of its normal work. The dive training Rampart offered wasn't just for conventional forces, but for SF/Title 50 types. Meaning operating for them requires a secret clearance at minimum and often a Top Secret. Applicants with serious signs mental health issues would typically not succeed in getting those clearances, so the idea he may have jumped out due to a history of ill mental health screams credulity. Wait for the final investigation to come out, but doubt it will reveal much.

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  47. It seems to me the NTSB will simply label this as: PIC departed aircraft under unknown circumstances.
    But common sense dictates it was suicide by pilot. If his state of mind made him do this, then it is a blessing in disguise he didn't succeed further in his career do the same act later and this time with passengers onboard, like that Germanwings flight.

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  48. The “right turn,” as reported in the prelim, makes no sense in the way it’s presented. It was a ~16° right turn initiated about two miles after the point where the SIC was *found* (not from where he jumped), took about 12 seconds, so 1.3°/second rate at that speed is about 10° bank “to look for him.

    Further, the PIC asked ATC if they wanted him to circle. So the guy jumps and a minute later you start a lazy turn… to the right (away from your nearest window)? And then ask ATC if they want you to circle? Then continue on your business resigned to the fact the guy didn’t make it. Why?

    Personally, I’d immediately initiate a relatively steep left turn so I could see better, begin an orbit - and *TELL*, not ask, ATC what I’m doing, in exercising emergency authority to deviate. Even if you know the guy is not likely going to make it, and you’re not going to see him anyway, it helps authorities locate and provide assistance in the event he injured someone on the ground, or the way-out chance he survived with major injuries. Where they first went looking was laughably out of the way. “Turned the airplane to the right to search” is either a mis-statement or an overstatement.

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    1. Everyone is assuming Crooks was in the right seat but if this was an evaluation for upgrade to captain, I think he would be in the left.

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  49. That could be the case.. My understanding, after reading the POH, is that the ramp controls are on the SIC side of the cockpit. Not sure if that would preclude him from casually reaching them, but the report did say he opened the ramp. I haven’t been able to find a photo of the exact location, just a description of “RH bulkhead.”

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  50. Inward-looking personal distress under pressure doesn't belong in the PIC seat.

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  51. The statement that he JUMPED is just that: a statement from the other pilot.

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    1. Forensic facts will prove or disprove this but the investigation seems to confirm the SIC was upset at messing up a landing and upon confirmation the landing gear was on the ground detached from the airplane became despondent.

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    2. To assume otherwise would be to ignore all the facts available at the moment from the NTSB investigation.

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    3. So.....you think he PIC pushed him out of the aircraft ?

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    4. Do you care to share those other facts regarding jumping vs slipping vs dumped apart from the other pilot's statement? Because I couldn't find them in the NTSB brief.
      I am only saying that that's all that there is, nothing more, nothing less, but for now it's s statement, not a fact. And there quite well may never be more and it may be correct that he jumped, but it may never be disproven or proven.

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    5. At minimum, assure your nomenclature is correct. NTSB Preliminary Reports are just that...."Preliminary Reports"..they are not referred to as "briefs". Are you a pilot ? If so, you should know the correct terminology for the first document the NTSB releases during an investigation

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    6. So, what is the maximum then that I should do?
      Yes, ist's a preliminary report, yes, I am a pilot.
      Now, what else was missing or wrong with my post?

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  52. Sounds like the young man was VERY upset with his landing mistake that damaged the airplane. As commented, there was really no reason to visually inspect the gear as it was known to be missing. And doing it from the back is the last place one would want to try - the door just forward of the gear on the starboard side would have been a better, and safer, choice anyway. A controlled landing in that aircraft was not a highly dangerous undertaking and the PIC would have known that. Given the comments about the macho environment at the company, perhaps the PIC had given him a ration of s**t over the bad landing (to exactly unlikely) and the poor guy just could not deal with it in the supercharged and emotional, to him, moment. We will NEVER know - no CVR onboard apparently and I can see no way the PIC would relate that, if it had gone that way.

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    1. It may have happened like that, but it'd pure conjecture at this time. What information do you have to say things like 'he was very upset with landing mistake"? Where in the NTSB report is there s notion of him having caused the landing gear issue and where about his emotional state? It's in your snd other posters' heads only. Yes, it may be true, but labeling it the way you do "it sounds" makes the speculation sound as if it were based upon facts, when it barely is .

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    2. CASA 212 is equipped with CVR and this aircraft was under contract to do parachute training for the military. The CASA 212 MMEL requires a malfunctioning CVR to be repaired within three days, which means the CVR would not be allowed to be left indefinitely in an inoperable state. Very likely that the CVR was operating normally and content will be transcribed as a routine action by the operator if NTSB didn't already put that in work.

      CASA 212 CVR content example from a 1998 accident:
      https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/45505/pdf

      CASA 212 MMEL (see pdf sheet 25, original page# 23-6):
      https://fsims.faa.gov/wdocs/mmel/ca-212%20r6b.pdf

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    3. CVR audio will be quite revealing. Did the PIC verbally abuse and berate Crooks for the failed landing/damaged aircraft ? Rampart appears to have a culture of "tough military talk".

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    4. As a senior person, I can’t imagine the pressure young pilots face in today's aviation business world. Did Rampart prey on Crooks' weaknesses and insecurities? It's downright criminal what these aviation companies are subjecting the young pilots to.

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  53. Since everyone seems to be focusing on Ramparts "tough military talk", I'm surprised no one has mentioned here in that, while listening to the audio tape, the PIC's tone sounds rather insolent and/or "irritated" me. When Tower says "So you don't have a co-pilot on you sir?" the PIC (IMHO) sort of snottily snaps back "No!! He just jumped out the back of the plane," again what sounds to me to be rather insolent in his delivery. Even in his remarks leading up to that comment, he sounds to me rather "irritated" or insolent. I'm a 30 year pilot as I know many folks on here are and talk with ATC daily. This PIC sounds to me rather snotty when he first initiates the conversation with Tower about "my co-pilot just ran out the back of the plane." What a snotty way of starting the conversation. Most of us professionals I don't think would start the conversation with Tower in that snotty tone and remarks exchange (which is why I think Tower sounds rather incredulous at first). Most "professionals" (at least all the ones I know) would initiate the conversation with Tower by first preparing them for the "unbelievable" you're about to tell them -- so that we could both (ATC and me, the PIC) can quickly prepare next actions. The PIC here (I'm inserting my opinion) almost sounds like he wants to say "My [idiot] copilot just rant out the back of the plane." Perhaps he had just got done berrating the guy. And was piss'd that the guy "ran out the back of the plane." I know a lot of folks will disagree with me here but listen to the tape (it's in the "tone" or demeanor of the PIC) - - many of the "professinals" here I would think would agree with me. Just interested in opinions. And by the way for those that will likely say "What's the right way to start" my suggestion (and I think the professional will agree), that if it had been me, I would start "Raleigh Tower, NXXX we have a bit of a mayday situation here. My second-in-command crew just opened the rear door of the plane and leaped out without a parachute -- likely to his death. I'll need you to mark my coordinates now and dispatch emergency medical to those coordinates." (at least that's the first thing that comes to my mind). It minimizes the number of "What?" and "Do you have a co-pilot" etc. etc. Again I know a lot of folks might disagree with me -- but I would think the "professionals" would chime in and back these statements up.

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    1. If my f/o took a flying leap out the back sans parachute I imagine my adrenaline and anxiety would jump up quite readily and be detectable in my voice. I would imagine I could go into shock as well.

      On the other hand, I can think of one or two former f/os that if they did that it would have no effect on me at all.

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    2. Appreciate the comment. Did you listen to the audio though? (not the transcripts). You obviously fly for someone, so I'm interested if you interpret his initiation of the exchange with Tower the same way. You can listen to them here https://soundcloud.com/user-390657974

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    3. Listening to the recording, pilot inflection/attitude sounds matter of fact, not insolent. Everybody needs to step back from embracing the fabricated "chief pilot checkride" story and embellishing the "tough military talk" projections.

      Unlikely that this was anything like a Jack Nicholson you can't handle the truth episode. The pilot who took over will probably turn out to be just another Rampart pilot of more flight time than the jumper, same staffing mode freight ops operate on.

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    4. I will listen again … a little more closely.

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    5. You nailed it. It takes all kinds. I also have had copilots that I wished would have jumped out.
      The heat of the moment, then he was dead, is my opinion.

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  54. You have no idea how you would react mentally or physically if a catastrophic event like this happened to you. Easy to claim you would be totally coherent when you are sitting in a lounge chair in a comfortable home.

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    1. Actually I do. I'm looking for "professional" pilots to respond here. I've handled a number of them over the 30 years career and have listened to the tapes afterwards as required. Never have I heard a "professional" pilot (or others like myself) talk to ATC in what appears to me to be rather snotty tone as this PIC. I'd like to hear some professional pilots respond.

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    2. First off, I wouldn't let him go wandering around a damaged airplane no matter how upset he was. "We still have a job to do -- land safely. Pull your sh*t together, now!"

      Secondly, if for some strange reason I let him take his little fresh air walk about, "Nobody goes into my open cargo bay without a safety harness properly attached."

      But, if for some bizarre reason, I let him go for a little stroll in a totally unsafe condition and state of mind, and happened to see him exit the airplane, I think what would come out of my mouth would be:

      "What the fk !!!. Fk fk fk fk fk!!! Noo, what the fk did you just do ?!?!?, Tower, tower, mark my position, inflight emergency, fk fk fk fk fk. I gotta land now! Give me a runway ... vector me. Oh, Jesus Christ .... heading, airspeed, altitude, talk to me, fly the plane, straight and level."

      Tower: "State your emergency."

      "Mark my position, repeat mark my position, and talk me down. I'll tell you on the ground. Let's land. I'm coming in missing a wheel ...."

      No, I'm not The Right Stuff, just a fellow human being.

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  55. Did anyone else find the audio (linked in one of the above linked local new outlet articles) from the FAA tower person to 911 a little disturbing. The 911 guy wanted to know coordinates so they could begin a search/recovery for the missing SIC but the FAA tower person could only give the numbers that showed up on his RADAR display and apparently didn't know what they meant, what units were involved or how to properly communicate them (i.e. North XX Drgrees, XX Minutes, and XX Seconds or decinal Degrees. NO clear spaces or decimal points were communicated). Makes me glad I've got beacons to communicate my position electronicaly to COSPAS-SARSAT.

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    1. Yeah, the caller was difficult. The responder was clearly asking about the format of the coordinates and was mostly ignored. The responder clearly knew about the different formats because in the next call he is clearly intelligently wondering about the format.

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  56. Here's the link to the audio of the 911 call:
    http://www.wral.com/911-call-released-faa-says-pilot-described-co-pilot-jumping-from-plane-before-emergency-landing/20401706/

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  57. Geez - listening to that 911 call is BEYOND excrutiating. It's a full 10 dragged-on-long minutes of each side just trying to understand basic lat/lon coordinates. It's like listening to the 77 minutes of Uvalde first responders doing anything and everything "but" responding. When are we going to learn? I know we owe a lot to these first responders but if we as a society can't poney up and make sure they all have basic lat/lon coordinates training then we're all useless. I realize this guy was on the ground dead already. But had this been an emergency where they were trying to dispatch much-needed medical personnel to those coordinates then that call was 10-life-saving minutes blown into oblivion forever and unrecoverable. If NTSB can learn and suggest anything from this -- it's that all first responders should have basic lat/lon training and recurrent training. Listen to the call - - it's an ear-shattering clarion call for training.

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    1. To be fair, the caller also did a terrible job. He never said what is the format of the coordinates and ingored the questions whether there's a decimal in there or not (maybe he had no idea what he was looking at as another commented suggested). When the responder was asking him to repeat the coordinates, the caller, instead of clarifying, went on about what happened.

      Note that when the recording switched to what I assume is a communication between the responders, one of them asked "is it in decimal format or minutes, degrees, seconds?", and the other guy responds something like "I don't know, this is what they gave me". This suggests that the responders knew of the different formats. Sure, the guy who took the call could've insisted more on clarifying, but I kind of understand him that he gave up, since the caller was a bit uncooperative (unintentionally probably).

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  58. I got the imperssion that the people on the 911/first responder end of that call COULD have handled things straight away IF the FAA tower people gave them coordinates in ANY unambiguous format that they could have plugged into their devices instead of having to try to guess about whether they were receiving data in Degrees-Minutes-Seconds, Decimal Degrees or who knows what format.

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  59. Replies
    1. Your demented thought about his young man is not in any way similar to "the sic flew the aircraft into a mountain killing all on board."

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    2. @10:27 -- You should change your name to "alwaysajackass". It would be a more accurate name.

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    3. The similarity here with Germanwings Flight 9525 may be with the sic (not under any medication for mental issues) having tremendous guilt of damaging the landing gear prior to diverting to the final airport.

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  60. Here's another possibility, based on nothing but imagination. Check ride PIC pilot botches the landing and breaks the gear. PIC tells SIC "I'm going to blame that one on you, otherwise I'll lose my job. I've got a family but you can start over". PIC continues "Don't worry, you might get fired and it'll set you back a few years but I'll help you." They work together for a few minutes while SIC thinks about this. Then... That plane have a CVR?

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    1. Alternately, the primary pilot on their non-check ride routine parachute ops flight says "With the gear knocked off, The Company will be sending us both for a post accident drug test".

      Regardless of who had the controls during the hard landing, the worry and implications would go well beyond just getting fired from the current job if the SIC's circumstances had some similarity to Germanwings copilot as the alwaysastudent comment mentioned and he had recently been prescribed SSRI's but didn't notify the FAA, ground himself, and follow the required process.

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  61. It is hard to admit, but I virtually crash landed a Piedmont 727 at TPA, in 1987. I actually have never forgiven myself for pulling the power off so early. The captain saved the aircraft. I relive my actions only about every three nights now.

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    1. I miss Piedmont. First airline I ever flew on. A YS-11. At least you werent aboard the 727 that had the mid-air over Hendersonville NC.

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    2. So.....it appears those that conjectured suicide are now being validated. Those that claimed "pilots are fixers and he fell out trying to asses the damage" can rest their cases. Sad commentary on what happened and those that claimed to have "insight" into the event. Young pilot, abusive company policies, career possibly stunted or ruined, distraught over accident....the dots were sadly easy to connect.

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    3. This comment has been removed by the author.

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    4. "armchair quarterback" opinions do no harm. Most of us are pilots, and many like to study the facts, express opinions and when the final NTSB report is released, we compare our conjecture with theirs...so the analogy is a poor one. I have never been a quarterback, and would be, indeed, unqualified to opine on a particular play choice, pass vs run, kick vs conversion, etc. I have been a pilot for 38 years however, so my insight is more than simply anecdotal. Sadly the conclusion in the vast number of NTSB investigations is pilot error, ergo, most pilots begin their conjecture with that assumption unless the initial report points in an entirely different direction.

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    5. Knowing the early history of the 727, I would never hold that against you. I hope this little bit of empathy helps you let go of that long ago unfortunate incident. For those of you who do not know how difficult and dangerous it is to learn to land a 727, it is worth reading about. It lands like nothing any pilot had flown before up until that time, so it was difficult for the first pilots to unlearn what normally worked in more conventional aircraft they had trained on. In the 727, its flaps create a massive airfoil, which at low speed results in a very high angle of attack, creating unfavorable T-tail stall characteristics. Early pilots had to learn to force a higher power and higher airspeed descent with reduced flap settings from what was originally envisioned by the aircraft designers. Some airlines went so far as to modify their 727s to prevent pilots from deploying full flaps when landing. Early crashes clarified the huge learning curve necessary to safely land this airplane, and it ultimately became one of the most successful commercial airliners. With this in mind, it's also possible your captain felt a little twang of responsibility, even if he never said so, for not again reminding you to maintain power longer than your instincts may have suggested. The cockpit is a team effort, mutual respect and responsibility. He may have saved it, but it was his team that nearly lost. You both learned a good bit that day.

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  62. 23 years of age. Typical of his generation, eh? Deficient impulse control when he doesn't get his way at the moment. See how they are? Get used to it, as it will only get worse.

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  63. If this is truly an act of suicide based on a momentary impulsive reaction to a bad landing, I am deeply saddened. For one thing, he was not the PIC, Pilot in Command, he may have been the PF, pilot flying, but the captain is ultimately responsible for the flight. There was some kind of statement that the approach was on centerline, on speed, on (visual) glide path, and the aircraft just dropped and knocked off the landing gear. That sounds like a possible CYA statement by the only guy able to talk. It is possible instruction was ongoing, either official or unofficial, and the PIC let the young PF go too far before making a correction.

    As far as exiting the aircraft, there are a myriad of other possibilities ranging from he was told to go back and visually check the gear, to he, out of guilt, went back on his own volition, either way, without securing himself. Did the surviving Captain have anything to do with that? Laying on a ration of guilt ? I spent over 40 years in two(or more) pilot operations and there is a high propensity to assign guilt to others instead of owning it yourself, especially if job security or FAA action might be involved. The airlines have an ASAP program, where mistakes can be disclosed and often times certificate action is avoided, and everybody learns from the event.

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  64. We may never know what indeed happened to cause him to fall to his death. But I believe this company deserves a thorough combing of everything—assets, executive leadership, employment laws, etc. I have a feeling there's something we aren't being told.

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    1. "He said a couple weeks ago, he wouldn't trade places with anybody in the world. He loved where he was," Hew Crooks said.

      That's not what you tell Dad if the company is bad.

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    2. So you think he is going to tell his father he works for assholes ? The company has a reputation and a ongoing lawsuit as a result of working conditions and discrimination. That quote cannot be assumed to exonerate Rampart.

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    3. From another poster on Aug 1. " Rampart Aviation, I interviewed with this outfit about 10 years ago to fly the CASA 212. I was to pay for air travel to RDU for the interview and Rampart would reimburse me afterwards, they never did. After traveling to RDU, I waited in at the airport for >five hours< for the chief pilot to make his grand entrance, he turned out to be an assclown. The next hour was spent listening to >his< resume and accomplishments as a pilot....of a Lear jet. He regaled me with stories of how he manages the energy of such high performance aircraft. Then he tells me the owner drops the F bomb in every sentence (because he's former military) and the pilots are all hardened war veterans that don't like working with civilians. A real GI Joe outfit from top to bottom is what they have and I should be honored to share space with them.

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    4. @JWC - Pretending that the young man lied to his father fits in with your fabricated check ride story and relentless pushing of the "evil company" narrative. You still don't seem to realize the appearance generated by your comment sequences in this thread.

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    5. Have they investigated foul play. No one who said he had everything going for his self would jump out of an airplane

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    6. "Fabricated" check ride story ? I simply passed along a news report I read and identified it as such. The "evil" company image is underpinned by the individual whose post I reposted above and an existing law suit. The "appearance" I have generated is based solely on information I have noted and shared. Ergo, me thinks thou doest protest too much.

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    7. More info for Mr. "you still dont seem to realize" Google "Schwartz v. Rampart Aviation LLC, et al". It's an interesting little peek into what seems to be a (purposely) hostile climate. Rampart actually has a WRITTEN POLICY condoning and protecting the "harsh, etc" language used by employees. I'm a big fan of four-letter words, but not so fond of the macho BS that *seems* to be SOP with these folks :/

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    8. Not my words Sir, those of others. Call them liars and fabricators.

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  65. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11137883/amp/DOD-contracted-plane-company-failed-comment-death-pilot-amid-lawsuit-ex-pilot.html

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  66. https://crottyandson.com/eric-schwartz-v-rampart-aviation-et-al/

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  67. JWC says: "I simply passed along a news report I read"

    (Checks notes): "But I still can't provide a link."

    "Look! Over there is an allegation of rough culture, from a lawsuit by an employee who got terminated two years ago. That is the proof that instead of just flying parachute drops on the accident day, the chief pilot was doing a check ride."

    Can't link the check ride story, because it never existed. News stories that do exist don't require deflection to something else. Providing a link isn't complicated.

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  68. This young pilot didn't jump. He fell out. I've been around our Sun almost 60-times and I can't count the number of times I have nearly lost my life, either through misadventure, homicide or health. Godspeed.

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    1. Quite possible, but I might have scripted this differently, if he said to me he needed air and was going to the back of the plane: "Bullsh*t, take three deep breaths and get your act together, son. We still have to land this crate and I don't know what else might have broken that is about to go, and you want to go for a walk? No f**king way! Buckle up. You can get your fresh air when we are safely on the ground."

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