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Snakes on a Plane - For Realz

Posted 04-16-2009 at 02:22 AM by Nate
From: http://www.theage.com.au/travel/trav...0415-a7h7.html
:
FOUR escaped pythons have caused a Qantas plane to be grounded in Melbourne after airline staff failed to find them.

The young Stimson's pythons, four of 12 in a container in the Boeing 737-800's cargo hold, apparently escaped on Tuesday during a 2½-hour flight from Alice Springs to Melbourne.

With Qantas staff unable to find the escapees among the luggage in the hold, the aircraft was removed from service and a 4pm Melbourne-to-Sydney flight was cancelled.

Qantas spokesman Joe Aston said the 12 juvenile pythons measured about 15 centimetres and were travelling in "an appropriate" container. He said it was not clear how the four had escaped.

"While (the container) was intact on departure (from Alice Springs), it was discovered on arrival that four of those animals had broken free," he said yesterday.

Passengers waiting to catch flight 446 to Sydney were put on a later flight and asked to provide an address to Qantas staff so their luggage, delayed during the search for the reptiles, could be forwarded to them.

Native to the arid and rocky parts of western and central Australia, the Stimson's python eats its prey whole — and this includes small mammals, birds, frogs and other reptiles.

The snake, which grows to between 50 centimetres and one metre, is not venomous.

Mr Aston said that after establishing that the species was not threatened or endangered, the aircraft was fumigated to kill the four pythons.

Stimson's pythons can climb when hunting and are often found high up on ledges of caves where they prey on small bats. They are common as pets and can live for more than 20 years.

Mr Aston said all passengers received their delayed luggage and the aircraft concerned was back in service.
What's not mentioned in that article is that despite fumigating the plane, they still haven't actually found the snakes.
Total Comments 6

Comments

AlexFili's Avatar
Epic. "I've had it with bleeping snakes on this bleeping plane!"
Posted 04-16-2009 at 02:56 AM by AlexFili

Oddey's Avatar
Funny how such a small problem can create such a big deal. They're just Pythons. Good thing they weren't Cobras or something. Although I don't think very many people keep them as pets.
Posted 04-16-2009 at 05:09 AM by Oddey

Disgruntled Intern's Avatar
Yeah, Stimson's pythons are not common in the reptile trade. Poor snakes.
Posted 04-16-2009 at 07:39 AM by Disgruntled Intern

Pilot's Avatar
Fly high and open the doors mates.
Posted 04-16-2009 at 07:58 AM by Pilot

AlexFili's Avatar
"Jellyfish on a plane" would never work. Heck, even turtles wouldn't work!
Posted 04-16-2009 at 08:34 AM by AlexFili

Mac Sirloin's Avatar
Did you know that a small submarine with a three man crew depressurized and made all of them explode? That's how your posts make me feel.
Posted 04-16-2009 at 11:50 AM by Mac Sirloin

 






 
 
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