Snake hitches a ride on wing of Qantas plane
Updated: 11:23, Friday, 11 January 2013
The snake was identified as a 3m-long non-poisonous Amethystine python
The python was found dead on arrival
Passengers on a flight from Australia to Papua New Guinea were shocked to look out their cabin windows to find a huge snake on the wing of the plane.
The 3m-long non-poisonous Amethystine python appeared about an hour into the Qantas flight between Cairns in northern Queensland and the Papua New Guinean capital of Port Moresby yesterday.
"Halfway to Papua New Guinea passengers reported seeing a snake clinging to the wing," a Qantas spokesman said of the snake, which is also known as a scrub python and can grow to as much as 8.5m long.
A crew member told Australian media that the initial reaction when the python's presence was first reported was "you've got to be kidding".
The slithery stowaway was believed to have crawled onto the plane from scrubland or mangroves that surround the airport in tropical Cairns.
Qantas said there was no impact on the safe operation of the aircraft due to the snake's presence. The Bombardier Q400 was cleared to resume flying after it landed in Port Moresby.
The snake, unfortunately, was found dead on arrival.
Updated: 11:23, Friday, 11 January 2013
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Passengers on a flight from Australia to Papua New Guinea were shocked to look out their cabin windows to find a huge snake on the wing of the plane.
The 3m-long non-poisonous Amethystine python appeared about an hour into the Qantas flight between Cairns in northern Queensland and the Papua New Guinean capital of Port Moresby yesterday.
"Halfway to Papua New Guinea passengers reported seeing a snake clinging to the wing," a Qantas spokesman said of the snake, which is also known as a scrub python and can grow to as much as 8.5m long.
A crew member told Australian media that the initial reaction when the python's presence was first reported was "you've got to be kidding".
The slithery stowaway was believed to have crawled onto the plane from scrubland or mangroves that surround the airport in tropical Cairns.
Qantas said there was no impact on the safe operation of the aircraft due to the snake's presence. The Bombardier Q400 was cleared to resume flying after it landed in Port Moresby.
The snake, unfortunately, was found dead on arrival.