Yesterday, 24 September 2012, Qantas confirmed that a crocodile had managed to break free during a flight bound for Melbourne.
The reptile escaped from its cage on the flight that took off from Brisbane, last week, and was found roaming free in the cargo hold. It was discovered by a shocked baggage handler when he opened the aircraft's cargo area. Thankfully the croc, which was not fully grown, was quickly and safely captured and rushed back to its cage without incident. (Source: Daily Mail)
Australian Air Express, the cargo company responsible for Qantas’s baggage handling is investigating the event.
It’s not the first time a crocodile has managed to escape on a plane. Back in 2010, on an internal flight in the Democratic Republic of Congo, a small airliner crashed into a house, killing twenty people, after a crocodile smuggled into the aircraft escaped and started a panic. (Source: The Telegraph)