Dad, 32, who flew to Turkey for family holiday dies hours after being escorted off plane

Ben Crook died in Turkey hours after flying to Turkey with his family

A father who went missing after being escorted off a plane in Turkey tragically died just hours later.

Ben Crook, 32, flew out to Antalya with his partner, Jess Jenkins, and their two children on September 23, Wales Online reports.

But Ben, who had drunk alcohol and taken cocaine, started to behave erratically on the flight by shouting at an air steward and smashing his and Ms Jenkins' phones, an inquest heard.

And when the plane landed in Turkey on September 24, Mr Crook was escorted from the plane and separated from his partner, who was told to leave the airport and took a taxi to her hotel with her children.

But Mr Crook never made it to the hotel to join his family, an inquest at Gwent Coroner's Court on Tuesday, June 10 heard. He was subsequently reported missing in Turkey in an appeal widely circulated online.

But tragically, Mr Crook was discovered with fatal injuries after falling from a height. He died at Antalya Training and Research Hospital at 2.15am on September 25.

A coroner has now concluded his death was the result of an accident 'the exact details of which are unknown'.

Ben was escorted off flight after drinking

In a statement read out to the court by senior coroner Caroline Saunders, Ms Jenkins said Mr Crook had started drinking alcohol before they arrived at the airport and bought duty free alcohol at the airport which they planned to drink at their hotel.

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The flight was delayed so the couple began drinking the duty free alcohol - Ms Jenkins said her partner was a "nervous flier" but they were "chatting and joking" before take off.

During the flight, she said Mr Crook's behaviour changed and he began shouting at a male steward, demanding alcohol. He then broke both his and Ms Jenkins' mobile phones and as a result of his behaviour he was escorted off the plane and became separated from his partner.

Speaking about Mr Crook's alcohol and drug use, Ms Jenkins said her partner used cocaine recreationally and only did so when he had been drinking.

Mr Crook's sister, Amy, said her brother had had issues with drugs and alcohol and his consumption had increased in the months before his death. He also suffered with his mental health, which was impacted by his drug and alcohol use, according to his sister.

But she said there was nothing to suggest he would take his own life and leave his two children without a father.

Witnesses saw Ben before he died

When his son had initially disappeared, Mr Crook's father had travelled to Turkey where he discovered his son had died.

Upon returning from Turkey, Mr Crook's father realised he had received a message in his Facebook Messenger spam folder which appeared to be from his son, in which he was trying to find out the name of the hotel where his partner was staying. There was a further message again requesting contact.

Members of Mr Crook's family had contact from a number of unidentified individuals in Turkey who claimed they had seen the deceased before his death.

One woman who made contact with Ms Jenkins wrote: "Hello, we have just seen your post about Ben being missing. We saw him on September 24 at lunchtime.

"He approached me and my husband for help while walking near Kaleici Harbour. He said he smashed up his phone and had brought a new one but it was not ringing for some reason.

"He used my phone to send a message to his friend and we gave him our number if he needed more help. He looked shaken and hungover.

"After the Facebook message and ringing his friend, he crossed the harbour and walked, we presumed, to the police station for help."

Friends and family of Mr Crook, of Abertridwr, Caerphilly, Wales, later received messages from people, including photographs of what appeared to be Mr Crook lying on rocky ground at the bottom of a tall building.

Others suggested Mr Crook had fallen at around 6.20pm on September 24, while he was smoking.

Fall was an accident, coroner concludes

There was no suggestion of third party involvement, the hearing heard.

A post mortem examination carried out at the Antalya Forensic Institute revealed Mr Crook had suffered external injuries and lacerations which were in keeping with a fall.

Mr Crook's body was repatriated to the UK and a further post mortem examination was carried out at Grange University Hospital by Dr Majid Rashid on October 22, which showed he had suffered head injuries and bruising to his upper limbs as well as cuts and multiple abrasions to his abdominal wall. There had been an incision to the chest wall which suggested a chest tube had been inserted to drain fluid.

The vault of Mr Crook's skull had been fractured, there was damage and bleeding to the brain and the pelvis had been fractured on both sides.

A toxicology report revealed the presence of cocaine, alcohol, ketamine and cocaethylene in Mr Crook's blood, with the ketamine likely administered during his treatment.

Dr Rashid recorded the medical cause of death as fractured skull and pelvis caused by blunt trauma as a result of a fall.

Delivering her conclusion, Ms Saunders said: "(Alcohol and drugs) may have caused disorientation and poor judgement but this is insufficient to determine he fell as a result of the drugs he had taken.

"I find the fall was an accident, the exact details of which are unknown...

"On September 24, 2024, Ben Crook fell from height whilst on holiday in Turkey and sustained severe head and pelvic injuries and died on September 25, 2024. The conclusion I reach is that of an accident."

The coroner offered her sincere condolences to Mr Crook's family in the courtroom.