A co-pilot who died in a fall from a plane over North Carolina may have jumped from the aircraft, according to a new report released by the National Transportation Safety Board.

The NTSB first reported that former Fairfield resident Charles Crooks died after a fall from an airplane.

A preliminary report states Crooks was "visibly upset" after a hard landing attempt damaged the plane's landing gear, causing it to fall off.

The report goes on to say that the pilot reported Crooks opened his side cockpit window and "may have gotten sick".

The pilot is said to have taken over radio communications while Crooks got up from his seat and walked toward the rear of the craft, where he lowered a ramp and exited the airplane without a parachute.

The NTSB issued the preliminary report for its ongoing investigation of the July 29 incident involving a CASA C-212 airplane near Raeford, North Carolina.

Eyewitnesses called police about a plane that made an emergency landing. Crooks' body was later recovered in the backyard of a private residence.