By Ewen Boey – October 22nd, 2010
Could a crocodile running loose onboard a plane cause
it to crash? (File photo)
A crocodile running loose onboard may have caused an
August plane crash in Congo that killed 19 people.
This is according to the lone survivor of the crash, who
testified that a mini-stampede took place in mid-flight when
panicked passengers frantically tried to avoid the man-eating
reptile, thus tilting the balance of the plane.
The survivor, whose identity has not been revealed, said
that caused the pilots of the small Let-410 plane to lose
control, leading to the subsequent crash.
It’s believed that the crocodile managed to escape from a bag.
It’s not known why there was a crocodile on the plane in the first
place.
The crash in the Democratic Republic of Congo was initially
thought to have been caused by a “lack of fuel”.
According to Sky News, the British pilot who died in
the crash — First Officer Chris Wilson — had previously been
worried about the state of the Czech-made aircraft.
“He told me they are blacklisted by the licensing authority,”
his friend Roger Bailey told British tabloid The
Sun.
Tim Atkinson, of the Air Accidents Investigations branch of the
Department for Transport, who is dealing with the accident from the
UK, has said that the crocodile hypothesis is highly unlikely,
though he “wouldn’t rule it out completely”.
He did add, however that “if this were the case, it is truly
extraordinary”.
Source:
http://sg.yfittopostblog.com/2010/10/22/escaped-crocodile-causes-plane-to-crash/