According to the lone survivor the crocodile was apparently hidden away in a duffel bag by another passenger. It is believed that the person attempting to smuggle the crocodile aboard was going to sell it. However, the animal broke free from its confines and began wandering around the plane.
Pandemonium on the plane
The plane erupted into chaos. The airplane’s flight attendant saw the animal and immediately ran toward the cockpit. Once other passengers realized what was happening they also rushed towards the cockpit. As the pilot attempted to figure out what was happening, and as the weight shifted in the small airplane, the flight became unstable and the plane went down.
When the plane crashed it struck a house located just a few hundred feet from the airport runway. There was no one in the home at the time. When the plane went down 20 passengers died. The crocodile reportedly survived the crash but when it was found in the wreckage it was killed by a machete blow.
Originally, when the crash happened, reports were that the plane had run out of fuel just short of the runway and was unable to land safely. The plane itself belonged to a private carrier and was a Czech-made Let L-410 twin engine aircraft. Most of the air planes in the Congo, flying mostly short domestic routes, are old Soviet-era aircraft with sketchy maintenance records at best.
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