NTSB Preliminary Report Sheds Light on Copilot Mid-Air Departure

Copilot ‘got up from his seat, removed his headset, apologized, and departed the airplane via the aft ramp door.’

Tuesday, August 16, 2022 at 06:16 PM ET

Verified

The CASA 212 is a fixed-gear design with a ramp that lowers in the rear to allow for the egress of skydivers. [File Photo Courtesy: US Air Classics]

Key Takeaways:

A copilot intentionally departed a skydiving aircraft without a parachute during an emergency flight near Raleigh, North Carolina, on July 29.
The incident followed a hard landing that damaged the aircraft's right main landing gear, reportedly upsetting the copilot who then exited via the aft ramp door.
The surviving pilot (PIC) took control, declared an emergency, and despite the copilot's departure, successfully performed an emergency landing at Raleigh Durham International Airport.

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According to the National Transportation Safety Board, the copilot of a skydiving aircraft that made an emergency landing July 29 at Raleigh, North Carolina, intentionally departed the aircraft in flight without a parachute. According to the surviving pilot, the copilot was upset about the hard landing that damaged the airplane.

The report, released Tuesday, comes nearly three weeks after the CASA 212-200 was substantially damaged by a hard landing near Raeford, North Carolina.