Father of Pilot Who Died After Exiting Plane Speaks Out

A family is mourning the death of a young pilot who died after exiting a plane shortly before it made an emergency landing on Friday.

Identified by authorities as co-pilot Charles Hew Crooks of Raleigh, N.C., the 23-year-old's father told NBC affiliate WRAL his son began pursuing his private pilot license in college and had been working as a flight instructor for over a year.

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

"I can't imagine what happened," his grieving father remarked. "We're a strong family and we're a very loving family. But this, it leaves a hole."

Although the investigation is ongoing, Wake County Emergency Management officials have said they believe the co-pilot either jumped or fell from the plane.

The twin-engine cargo plane made an emergency landing at Raleigh–Durham International Airport at around 2:40 p.m., the Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement obtained by PEOPLE.

A spokesperson for the airport told WRAL that although two people were on the plane when it took off, only the pilot was on board when the plane landed. The outlet reported that prior to the landing, the pilot reported landing gear issues.

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After landing the plane, the pilot — whose name has not been released — was treated and released from a local hospital on Friday, according to the outlet.

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Wake County Emergency Management previously told PEOPLE that the Fuquay-Varina Police Department recovered the 23-year-old's body in a nearby backyard hours later.

Speaking at a press conference on Friday, spokesperson Darshan Patel said the discovery was made after a resident "heard something in their backyard" and alerted officers, according to WRAL.

Patel said Crooks did not have a parachute on when his body was recovered just before 7 p.m., reported CNN.

The small 10-person plane, a CASA CN-212 Aviocar, belonged to Spore Ltd. LLC, which is owned by Rampart Aviation.

Rampart previously declined PEOPLE's request for comment as the incident is still under investigation by the FAA andthe National Transportation Safety Board.

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