Croc brings plane down...sort of, kills 20

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Jeremy Westerman
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Croc brings plane down...sort of, kills 20

Post by Jeremy Westerman »

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... thers.html


An escaped crocodile caused a plane crash that killed a British co-pilot and 19 others on board, it emerged yesterday.
The small plane was thrown off balance by a stampede of passengers trying to avoid the reptile.
First Officer Chris Wilson, 39, died alongside Belgian pilot Danny Philemotte, 62, when the twin-engined plane crashed into a house a few hundred yards from its destination in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
It has only now emerged that a lone survivor apparently told investigators about the crocodile.
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Crash scene: Nineteen passengers and the pilot were killed in the light aircraft when it came down in the Congo
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Panic: The sole survivor told investigators that the crocodile had caused all the passengers to flee to the front of the aircraft, causing it to flip
The plane came down despite no apparent mechanical problems during an internal flight from the capital, Kinshasa, to Bandundu regional airport on August 25.
A report by news organisation Jeune Afrique stated: '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.
'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.'
The plane was then sent off-balance 'despite the desperate efforts of the pilot', said the report.
'The crocodile survived the crash before being cut up with a machete.'
The occupants of the property the plane crashed into were away.
Mr Wilson's mother Jean, 78, paid tribute to her son in her local paper in Shurdington, Gloucestershire.
She said: 'He loved flying and he worked hard to fulfil his dream of becoming a pilot. He had three jobs at once just to pay for his training. He absolutely adored flying.
'I’m very proud of him for working so hard. He loved life and did everything he could to achieve his dream.
'There have been so many messages from people he has known through the years. We didn’t realise so many people cared for him.'
The plane was a Czech-made Let L-410 Turbolet, one of more than 1,100 produced as short-range transport aircraft and used mainly for passenger services.
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A crocodile like this one was sneaked on to the plane by a passenger in a large sports bag. It is believed to have escaped as the plane came into land
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regalringneck
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Re: Croc brings plane down...sort of, kills 20

Post by regalringneck »

.... wow, what an incredible & tragic event. This tragedy really underscores the absolute stupidity (& ultra-selfishness) of smuggling critters onto planes; people panic, even over no real threats like this croc or a freekn spider.
Id like to think that a plane that size at flight speed & level, would not be destabilized by such a shift in load ... any pilots around?
Someday i must type out the details of my youthful adventure to a science camp in the sierras, returning to LA w/ a backpack full of pituophis ... & the pandemonium that broke out on the greyhound bus on the I-15, thnx goodness the driver kept his cool & the other passengers didnt beat some sense into me & my buddy...
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WSTREPS
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Re: Croc brings plane down...sort of, kills 20

Post by WSTREPS »

This story came out years ago and periodically gets rerun. It is highly questionable. I believe it was already posted here a good while ago.

Tim Atkinson, of the Air Accidents Investigations branch of the DfT had this to say about the crash, dealing with the accident from the UK, said: "If this were the cause of the accident it is truly extraordinary."I would say it's extremely unlikely this story holds water but I wouldn't rule it out completely."

He added that there had been reports of passengers making their way to the front of the aircraft prior to landing, which may have led to the crash.

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chris_mcmartin
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Re: Croc brings plane down...sort of, kills 20

Post by chris_mcmartin »

regalringneck wrote:Id like to think that a plane that size at flight speed & level, would not be destabilized by such a shift in load ... any pilots around?
IF the story is true:

Using an average weight of 150lb, 20 folks running from the back to front of an aircraft that size would mean 3,000 lbs moving your center of gravity sufficiently to cause a crash. The max gross weight of the aircraft is only ~14,000lb so you're talking more than 20% of the weight shifting in flight!

Moving forward actually makes the plane more stable, but in a bad sense--pull back on the stick/yoke all you want; you won't be able to pull out of the resultant nose-dive.
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Jeremy Westerman
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Re: Croc brings plane down...sort of, kills 20

Post by Jeremy Westerman »

Hmm. I just saw this on my Yahoo news feed, was not aware of a potential hoax or recurrent story. Time to check Snopes and see what I can find. I would be surprised if the Daily Mail UK ran with a story if they did not fact check it (media checking their facts, right lol), but I must confess I do not know if that is a legit media outlet, as I just passed on the story like Yahoo news did.

I have no doubt that a massive shift in weight distribution could cause a plane to come down and we all know about overreaction to reptiles by the public. At least on the surface it is plausible. I will check into it when I have more time.
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Re: Croc brings plane down...sort of, kills 20

Post by KecheMukwa »

The crocodile survived the crash before being cut up with a machete
Don't take this the wrong way, but did anyone else think that this was the most tragic part of the story? Seems like a cruel way to end an animal's life. Especially when it didn't really do anything except be in the wrong place at the wrong time.
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regalringneck
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Re: Croc brings plane down...sort of, kills 20

Post by regalringneck »

...thnx Chris, typen, bout load shifting, if you're interested in aviation; that video of the doomed 747 coming up out of Kabul about a year ago was really insightful as well as horrible of course.
... & no to the fellow from germany, ... after the loss of 20+ humans and a multi-million $ plane, it never occurred to me to pyne the unfortunate fate of the luckless croc ... :crazyeyes:
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Re: Croc brings plane down...sort of, kills 20

Post by chris_mcmartin »

regalringneck wrote:...thnx Chris, typen, bout load shifting, if you're interested in aviation; that video of the doomed 747 coming up out of Kabul about a year ago was really insightful as well as horrible of course.
Bagram, north of Kabul, and it was only April of this year. :( Not sure if the official report pinpointed a load coming loose as I'm not privy to such matters any more, but it sure looked likely as the cause.
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