Guppy, I posted the films in the bugs forum. There's a bug, but how and when it kills you is not certain. It's more likely to do it if you lose the tail during ditch. It's also got some sort of random timer (sometimes 20 seconds, sometimes 10) before blowing you up. Crazy stuff.
I know I've had it happen to me before when I had the tail intact. I just know it!