Snakes on an Aircraft! Airport Employees make Hair-raising Discover in Luggage
Passengers on a Virgin Australia flight from Melbourne to Brisbane were delayed for nearly two hours on Tuesday afternoon, thanks to an unforeseen stowaway.
What's believed to be a green tree snake was discovered inside the cargo hold of Virgin flight VA337 soon before departure.
Cabin crew found the reptile and rapidly shut the cargo door, locking it inside before calling for help.
That's when professional snake catcher Mark Pelley, referred to as 'The Snake Hunter', was contacted to handle the slippery burglar.
'I got a call from Virgin Australia. They stated, 'There's a snake on an airplane, can you come now?' I raced out there,' Pelley informed Daily Mail Australia.
He said it took him about half an hour to reach the airport, however surviving security included another hold-up.
'It took me about 30 minutes to get to the airport, then security took another 15 minutes to let me through.'
By that point, guests had already boarded and were left waiting on the tarmac while the situation was handled.
A green tree snake was spotted on board in the cargo hold of the Virgin Flight
Pelley explained that he just had one shot to capture the snake, warning that it was little enough to vanish into the inner workings of the airplane.
'If I didn't get it on the first go, it might've left behind the panels and into the plane. So I had to hurry and get it quickly,' he stated.
'Thankfully, it didn't get too far.'
It took Pelley simply 30 seconds to capture the snake and protect it in a container.
He later on verified the creature was a green tree snake - a non-venomous types belonging to Queensland, where the airplane had flown in from earlier in the day.
'It's likely someone accidentally loaded it in their baggage, and it got out during the flight,' he described.
Passengers on a Virgin Australia flight from Melbourne to Brisbane were delayed for nearly two hours on Tuesday afternoon, thanks to an unforeseen stowaway.
What's believed to be a green tree snake was discovered inside the cargo hold of Virgin flight VA337 soon before departure.
Cabin crew found the reptile and rapidly shut the cargo door, locking it inside before calling for help.
That's when professional snake catcher Mark Pelley, referred to as 'The Snake Hunter', was contacted to handle the slippery burglar.
'I got a call from Virgin Australia. They stated, 'There's a snake on an airplane, can you come now?' I raced out there,' Pelley informed Daily Mail Australia.
He said it took him about half an hour to reach the airport, however surviving security included another hold-up.
'It took me about 30 minutes to get to the airport, then security took another 15 minutes to let me through.'
By that point, guests had already boarded and were left waiting on the tarmac while the situation was handled.
A green tree snake was spotted on board in the cargo hold of the Virgin Flight
Pelley explained that he just had one shot to capture the snake, warning that it was little enough to vanish into the inner workings of the airplane.
'If I didn't get it on the first go, it might've left behind the panels and into the plane. So I had to hurry and get it quickly,' he stated.
'Thankfully, it didn't get too far.'
It took Pelley simply 30 seconds to capture the snake and protect it in a container.
He later on verified the creature was a green tree snake - a non-venomous types belonging to Queensland, where the airplane had flown in from earlier in the day.
'It's likely someone accidentally loaded it in their baggage, and it got out during the flight,' he described.