The Many Faces of Death: DEATHs Due to Escaped Crocodile on a Plane, AFRICA

Tuesday, January 29, 2013

0 DEATHs Due to Escaped Crocodile on a Plane, AFRICA

We've all heard by now of Snakes on a Plane, but how about a Croc on a Plane? And no, they weren't eaten to death by the crocodile either. Strangely, they all died (except the croc plus one), because they panicked and ran to one area of the plane, throwing it off balance which resulted in the plane crashing! As the story goes...

On August 25, 2010, a Czech-made Let L-410 Turbolet, one of more than 1,100 produced since 1969 as a short-range transport aircraft and used mainly for passenger services, was travelling an internal flight in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The plane was heading towards and was almost approaching Bandundu Airport when all hell broke loose. The aircraft involved was a previously registered ES-LLB, and was operated by Airest, an Estonian airline, until 2007, and was stored until Filair bought it in 2009.

Let L-410MU at Kubinka
Pic source

At 13:00 local time (12:00 UTC), the propeller plane crashed into a house approximately 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) short of the runway at Bandundu. According to most sources, no one was injured on the ground. Of the twenty-one people aboard the plane, one survived the crash. Local Radio Okapi reported that the aircraft ran out of fuel after being unable to land at Bandundu, but Filair later declared that 150 litres of kerosene were still on board, affirming that a technical problem had caused the crash. Most of the dead were Congolese. Soldiers of MONUC were the first to reach the crash site and reported that no explosion appeared to have occurred, supporting the original hypothesis of fuel scarcity.

It was later discovered through the lone survivor of the crash - a crocodile, (with the intent to be sold), hidden in a duffel bag, had escaped. A terrified air hostess followed by frightened passengers, stampeded towards the cockpit, the front of the plane, to get away from the crocodile. The center of gravity moved too much to the front which affected the aircraft weight and balance which led to the eventual loss of control. Despite the desperate efforts by 62-year-old Belgian pilot Danny Philemotte, who was also owner of the tiny airline, Filair, and his first officer, 39-year-old Briton Chris Wilson, the plane eventually crashed into a house.

Such a crash would be rare, aviation experts said. "It's possible. It's remote," John Cox, a former airline captain and now airplane safety consultant, told ABC News. "You could run the center of gravity forward where it wouldn't be controllable. Twenty people at 200 pounds each, it's possible."

The crocodile reportedly survived the crash only later to be chopped up by a machete.

Did You Know?

There was a second survivor but he later died in hospital.
Danny Philemotte was a well-known businessman in the country, and had recently married a Congolese.
The stewardess was 'Lucy' - the sister-in-law of the Captain.
DR Congo's deadliest air crash occurred in January 1996 when an Antonov 32 cargo plane crashed on a popular Kinshasa market, killing 365 people.
Of the more than 1,100 units built, roughly 500 remain in service. The majority were delivered to the former Soviet Union, but have been resold, particularly to airlines in Asia, Africa and South America. Forty aircraft are in use throughout Europe for commercial operation or skydiving. There are also an unknown number in Russia and ex-Soviet states. The aircraft can be used with short or even unpaved runways.