Croc on a plane: Reptile may have caused plane crash

A 2010 plane crash in the Congo killed 20 people, including its British pilot Chris Wilson. 

The cause?

Possibly an escaped crocodile, which panicked its passengers.

This was what an inquest into the accident heard on Friday, reports Mail Online. 

Wilson's father, Rob, had apparently sent an e-mail to officials in the Congo saying he had spoken to the original investigator.

"There is apparently a video of the crocodile being taken out of the plane," said assistant coroner David Dooley, summarising the e-mail. "The weight shift caused by the panic may have affected the plane causing it to nose dive or stall."

The crocodile, said Dooley, "would have been a maximum of two or three feet in length" (about 60-90cm). 

It could have escaped from a passenger's luggage as the pilot had told his brother before his death that it was normal for passengers to take animals on board. 

Sources: Mail Online, Metro