Sometimes life imitates art, and such was the case with an Australian flight that unexpectedly hosted a not-so-welcome guest.
On Thursday, Virgin Australia passengers in Broome reportedly boarded a plane bound for Perth without realizing that a snake had slithered its way onto the aircraft, in a situation reminiscent of the 2006 action-thriller “Snakes on a Plane.”
They likely also didn’t know that Australian TV personality Andre Rerekura — an ocean videographer who appears in the Disney+ docuseries “Shipwreck Hunters Australia” — was among the passengers on this flight. And in true Disney fashion, Rerekura was about to become a hero.
Speaking to Australianmedia, Rerekura said someone shouted that a snake was on board as the plane was about to depart. He also said that a woman behind him screamed right before the snake made its way to his feet.
That was when Rerekura sprang into action, picking up the snake and carrying it off the aircraft. He noted that as soon as he spotted the reptile, he recognized it as a Stimson’s pythonthat was just “scared and super shy,” as well as “cute.”
Though Stimson’s pythons are not venomous, they can “deliver a painful bite,” according to the Australian Museum, the country’s oldest natural history museum.
The flight was only delayed about 20 minutes, and Rerekura noted that “everyone was relieved that they didn’t have to get off the plane.” He also said that airline workers were “awesome” and awarded him a “complimentary drink” for his troubles.
Rerekura’s co-star Anouska Freedman was aboard the aircraft as well, writing on social media that “there was a snake on the plane and he caught it and got it off” — adding, “only in Western Australia.”
In footage of the incident, an airline worker can be heard on the plane’s intercom saying, “There is never a dull moment in aviation — but that certainly takes the cake.”
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Craig Shaw, the CEO of Broome International Airport, saidthat he was “uncertain how the reptile came to be on board.”
A Virgin Australia spokesperson said that the airline was aware of the incident but noted that the flight went ahead after the snake was escorted off the plane.