A routine flight in the Democratic Republic of Congo turned deadly when a crocodile escaped from a passenger’s duffle bag. According to the flight’s sole human survivor, panicking passengers fled into the cockpit and caused the pilot to lose control.
The first reports of the crash speculated that the plane had run out of fuel and “couldn’t make a proper landing”, but the apparent truth is far more bizarre. It seems that one of the private flight’s passengers was smuggling a crocodile in his carry-on and lost track of the animal:
The terrified air hostess hurried towards the cockpit, followed by the passengers. The plane then became unstable, despite the desperate efforts of the pilot.
Twenty people died as a result of the crash. The crocodile did survive but was executed with a machete. [MSNBC]
Image by Karen Givens/ShutterStock
Reece McPherson
Friday, October 22, 2010 at 1:54 PMIt’s horrible but funny at the same time.
Steve
Friday, October 22, 2010 at 2:22 PMThis is the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard. Don’t they seal off the cockpit for this very reason? To prevent passengers from storming it?
And a croc that could fit in a duffel bag is not a very big croc. It would be much smaller than even a child and could have easily been subdued with trays, bags, kitchen utensils etc lying around.
Couldn’t they just have pulled up their knees and continued the flight or just stood on their seats until the flight was over?
He got a crocodile onto a plane? What the hell.
There are so many things which shouldn’t have been allowed to happen but did. And the result is a huge loss of human life.
dfoolish1
Friday, October 22, 2010 at 4:25 PMI agree with you Steve, horrible, but terrible at the same time. When will people learn- won’t somebody think of the children?
James Carson
Sunday, October 24, 2010 at 11:32 PMit sounds like it was a small aircraft so its unlikely that the cockpit was sealed off. also, all the passengers going to the front would have caused the nose to dip.
Kah
Friday, October 22, 2010 at 5:31 PMThis could inspire a new movie! Lets have the internet decide on the name….
KadeM
Saturday, October 23, 2010 at 7:20 AMSimple…
“crocodiles on a plane”
Jo Bu
Friday, October 22, 2010 at 5:32 PMInterior Crocodile Alligator!!
…too soon?