It could make for the script of a really good horror movie / thriller; sadly, it happened in real life. A crocodile was let loose on a plane in the Republic of Congo, and the aircraft crashed, killing 19 people.
Apparently, the crocodile was in a stowaway bag, with investigators believing the passenger who got it on board wanted to sell it after landing. Somehow, it got away, causing panic with the rest of the passengers.
News.com reports that, when the other passengers noted that the crocodile was loose, they panicked and ran towards the pilot’s cabin. In doing so, they caused the aircraft to become unbalanced.
As a consequence, the plane crashed, killing everyone on board but one passenger – and the crocodile, which was later slashed with a machete by one of the rescuers.
“A stampede of terrified passengers caused the small aircraft to lose balance and tip over in mid-air during an internal flight in the Democratic Republic of Congo,” News.com reports.
“The unbalanced load caused the aircraft, on a routine flight from the capital, Kinshasa, to the regional airport at Bandundu, to go into a spin and crash into a house,” the same report says.
Ironically, the house into which the plane crashed was only a short distance away from where it was supposed to land. Investigators were shocked when they heard what had happened on board from the sole survivor.
“According to the inquiry report and the testimony of the only survivor, the crash happened because of a panic sparked by the escape of a crocodile hidden in a sports bag,” Jeune Afrique reports.
“One of the passengers had hidden the animal, which he planned to sell, in a big sports bag, from which the reptile escaped as the plane began its descent into Bandundu,” the same news agency says.
“The terrified air hostess hurried towards the cockpit, followed by the passengers,” Jeune Afrique adds.
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