A stowaway crocodile on a flight escaped from its carrier bag and sparked an onboard stampede that caused the flight to crash, killing 19 passengers and crew in August this year.
The croc had been hidden in a passenger’s sports bag – allegedly with plans to sell it – but it tore loose and ran amok, sparking panic.
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.
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 croc had been hidden in a passenger’s sports bag – allegedly with plans to sell it – but it tore loose and ran amok, sparking panic.
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| The wreck of the Let 140 that crashed in the Congo after a crocodile caused panic onboard |
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.
"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 terrified air hostess hurried towards the cockpit, followed by the passengers."
David Learmount,Operations and Safety auditor at Flight Global concurs that the passenger action(to rush forward) was enough to destabilize the aircraft to cause it to crash.In his post That Crocodile Crash,David explains,"The answer is yes, particularly when the aircraft was so close to the ground that the pilots would have had only seconds to attempt to resolve the situation before impact."
So what should be done to prevent future accidents like this?
David: "...the painfully obvious solution to prevent further accidents like it is to prevent passengers bringing crocodiles - or other dangerous animals - on board. But in the DR Congo, which has had the worst aviation accident record in the world for two decades, this sort of event is, unfortunately, just 'part of life's rich tapestry'. "
The crocodile that caused the fateful crash was found and cut into pieces after the accident.
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