Passenger plane forced to make emergency landing after 'stowaway cat attacked pilot'

A plane was forced to turn back mid-flight after a cat reportedly attacked the pilot.

The Sudan to Qatar Tarco Airlines flight encountered a problem roughly 30 minutes in to its journey.

A cat, which is thought to have got aboard during cleaning, seemingly woke up during the flight and attacked crew members.

The plane's crew attempted to catch the enraged stowaway, but to no avail.

Conscious of the threat the mammal might pose, the pilot decided to turn the plane around and head back to Khartoum, Al-Sudani reported.

It is not believed that the cat crawled into a passenger's belongings and then was brought onboard.

Instead it seems the animal is a stray who got into the hangar during the night while the plane was being prepared.

The incident is not the first of its type.

In August 2004 a Brussels Airlines pilot was also attacked by a cat.The aircraft, an Avro RJ, was traveling from Brussels to Vienna with 62 people onboard when a cat appeared in the cockpit.

The animal had apparently escaped from its airline-approved container and began scurrying around the cabin.

It broke into the pilot's cabin when a member of the crew opened the door to bring him some refreshments.