E-mail updates
Follow on Twitter
Subscribe to RSSAn Australian pilot was forced to make an emergency landing after a snake slithered into his cockpit. Msnbc.com's Dara Brown reports.
A pilot made an emergency landing during a flight in Australia, reportedly telling air traffic controllers, "Look, you're not going to believe this. I've got snakes on a plane."
Australia's ABC News reported that Braden Blennerhassett, 26, swiftly put the Air Frontier plane on the ground after making the unusual mayday call during a flight from Darwin to the remote town of Peppimenarti on Tuesday. Air Frontier offers charter and scenic flights throughout Australia’s northern territory.
"My blood pressure and heart rate was a bit elevated -- it was an interesting experience," Blennerhassett told Nine News. "As the plane was landing, the snake was crawling down my leg, which was frightening."
On the ground, a firefighter discovered that the snake that crawled down Blennerhassett's leg was not alone -- a green tree frog was also on the aircraft, Nine News reported. No other wildlife was found, and both animals had disappeared by the time a wildlife ranger came for them.
Frog hunted?
It is thought the snake, believed to be a non-venomous green tree snake, may have been hunting the frog, Nine News said.
Geoffrey Hunt, director of Air Frontier, which owns the plane, clearly hadn't seen the Hollywood film "Snakes on a Plane."
"I have heard of crocodiles being loose in planes, but not snakes," he told ABC News.
He added that the plane was grounded "until we find the snake," expressing the hope that the aircraft would not have to be taken apart.
More from msnbc.com and NBC News:
- 'Martyr for Greece': Retiree's suicide sparks violent protests
- With $10 million bounty on his head, militant openly taunts US
- Reports: 23-year-old with $315K bar bill held in trading probe
- Better luck next year? Scotland's pandas fail to mate
- 'I've got snakes on a plane': Pilot makes emergency landing
- PhotoBlog: Wife held at knifepoint for 6 hours
Follow us on Twitter: @msnbc_world
Leave a Comment:
Not even interessssssssting. Next.
Is it just me or is there an army of trolls these days hanging out on Yahoo and MSNBC and other news sites racing to be #1 at posting "this article is useless"?? I seriously think there is a coordinated movement out there by a bunch of tech geeks trying to do this. (See the first two posts in this article) And if you notice many other articles of "lesser" importance will have similar responses in the first 1-2 posts.
Think about it, how do you become the first poster? So excited at new stories that get released and then spending the effort to comment? Comment is even less interesting than the story... the irony..
If you are counting my post as the #2 position, please notice the time lag between the first one and mine. Please adjust your tinfoil hat strap, the conspiracy mute button needs some serious tuning.
All it really is, is a movie reference. I like movie references and every Sienfeld reference ever made. But really, you think there is some kind of coordinated tech geek plan at work???WTF man, if there wasn't one, you have started one now with many trolls. Keep up the fine work!
...which is why I seldom keep a frog in my pockets.
Yeldy, I think you are right and this clown is some kind of conspiracy nutt job.
Isn't chidori/ clamidia, a health issue?
Just a movie reference, other than that you are right, not even a story.
Australia has some snakes not seen anywhere else on the planet; most are deadly as hell; the two-step, if it bites you in two steps you are gone.
I believe Australia has more varieties of deadly snakes than anywhere else on the planet. Yeah, the movie reference is kinda fun, but that guy had a right to be scared. Put the plane down now. Identify the snake later.
I'm tired of these monkey fighting snakes on this monday friday plane!!
The type of plane isn't even named.
But if I may reference Family Guy:
"DAMN, NATURE, YOU SCARY!"
Too funny
I bet that the pilot felt tired of that snake on his plane.
"I'm tired of these mother f-ing snakes... on this mother f-ing plane". It had to be said... and I would have told the air traffic controller that. :P Samuel L Jackson will be grinning when he reads this story... who would have thought that snakes would make it onto a plane to terrorize the pilot in real life. Haha.
Dammit, I came here to post the same exact comment. You win.
It would have been the consequences of the snake that would make me land!!! LOL
Props to the pilot for keeping his cool, and thank the gods the passengers didn't all freak out and rush to the back of the plane, causing serious weight imbalance and getting everyone killed. It has happened before, almost just like that.
"Props to the pilot..."
Ha, ha! Props to the pilot. I get it.
Haha, that was actually unintentional. In retrospect it makes me look really clever though. Yay for propellers.
That is really something to hear just another reason why I won't fly.
I won't fly because of the spider monkeys that seem to be on all the planes.
Enough is enough!! I've had it with these motherf-ing snakes on this mother-fing plane!! Everybody strap in, were about to open some f***ing windows!
LMAO!!!
A nice add-in to the story would be: "Stewardesses also found a wallet in the lavatory with the inscription 'Bad Motherf**ker' on it"
You can't blame the guy... the green tree snake is virtually identical to the boomslang, which is lethal. Of course, the boomslang isn't native to Australia, but with a snake that toxic, you don't want to take chances.
That's right because if the snake can crawl down his leg for a frog, it can crawl up his leg for what looks like eggs in a nest.....ouch!
Chris, it could have been a green mamba...................
or a crocodile crawling down his leg. How does a crocodile get loose on a plane?
I'd much rather have a snake on my plane than a crocodile.
I don't like it when my airplane has snakes on it. It just doesn't seem right.
Snakes, alligators, lawyers... just out for carnage..
Before they tear the plane apart looking for the snake, they should put a non-declawed cat in it for a while. Cats are great snake hunters, as long as it not huge like a python or something. However, I don't think the frog or the snake got on by themselves. . . Someone's idea of some excitement.
Nah you need a mongoose. Cats aren't nearly as good at it.
Then you need to put on a cobra to find the mongoose, then what will you use to find the cobra?... hmm, sounds like a story coming on...
"There was an old lady who swallowed a fly" like that Ken?
Enough is enough! I've had it with these motherf#$#@ snakes on this mother$#@@$ plane!
Before they rip the plane apart looking for the snake, they should put a non-declawed cat in it. Cats are great snake hunters, as long as it's not a big python or something. Also, I don't believe the frog or snake got on the plane on their own. It was someone's sick idea of a joke or excitement.
Most definately a prank or a disgruntled employee. Where's the aussie TSA.That snake may have been a suicide bomber.
I have several friends from down under, and I can understand why this guy wanted to land ASAP. Australia has nine of the worlds ten deadliest snakes, (not to mention ten of the worlds ten most deadly spiders), and people down there are not fond of snakes at all, or spiders....ew!
Ive never seen snakes on a plane but I am going to rent it now. Samuel L Jackson is good
Don't bother.
I don't know what's occurring with "flight crews" these days. I'm thinking about the past three weeks: the flight attendants who went hysterical and had to be taken off a plane, screaming and yelling the plane was going to crash; then, the pilot last week who went hysterical, tried to bust into the cock pit-flight crew didn't want him in there after he'd gone berserk; he, too, was yelling that the plane was going to crash.
Now, a pilot in a panic because: "You're not going to believe this, I've got snakes on a plane." The article further reports:
In that portion it isn't clear if the firefighter actually saw the snake or if the firefighter only saw the green tree frog. What is clear is that neither were on board when the wildlife ranger arrived to the plane.
Was there only one pilot on this plane? Was there any crew on this plane? Why didn't someone grab the snake and the frog, contain them in "something" until the wildlife ranger came aboard?
My real question is: Was there ever a snake crawling down this pilot's leg, or was he delusional as the pilot last week, and the two flight attendants the week before that?
Is some evil force hypnotizing flight personnel? What's really going on? Is this some type of terrorist "flight test" - the prelude to something even more sinister? Something rather odd is at work. But, what?
That pilot's better than me, I would've killed us all, I'm terrified of snakes and I would've crashed trying to get away from it.
Hard to believe people become that frightened by a snake - venemous or not. Give me a break. Finish the flight.
I'm not sure pilots take classes in how to determine venomous snakes from non-venomous snakes. Were the snake to be poisonous and the pilot to be bitten, everyone in the plane would have been in jeopardy. The pilot did the right thing and calmly landed the plane.
Is it just me or is there an army of trolls these days hanging out on Yahoo and MSNBC and other news sites racing to be #1 at posting "this article is useless"?? I seriously think there is a coordinated movement out there by a bunch of tech geeks trying to do this. (See the first two posts in this article) And if you notice many other articles of "lesser" importance will have similar responses in the first 1-2 posts.
The pilot handled the situation correctly. And snakes on planes is not as unusual as some might think. They're having problems in Hawaii now with snakes, (a land originally without them,) from brown snakes getting on planes from Guam, undetected, and slithering off the planes after landing. These snakes are fond of birds, as food. Now they are vermin, killing off a lot of rare bird species native only to the Hawaiian Islands.
As far as some passenger catching the snake, I'm not sure that would be such a good idea, as passengers jumping around on one of these small "tour" planes might create more of a problem than the snake being left alone. And, add to that, more than likely, no one was a herpetologist, (an expert on snakes,) and as Australia is noted for its venomous snakes, they might have a very critical problem on their hands.
Many serious considerations here, none we can really get into, as we weren't there.
That really sucks about Hawaii.
No mambas in Australia...that's an African snake. When flying a plane, there's not a lot of time to spare for casual analytical herpetology. Evenstar13 has it right...in Oz you just assume it's potentially deadly, because so many are.
BEST part of this article.........
"I have heard of crocodiles being loose in planes, but not snakes," he told ABC News.
But young crocs are soooo cute.
That's the line that caught my attention, too! Only in Australia could a plane owner be seemingly nonchalant about CROCODILES loose on an airplane! I love the Aussiesl
I get that all the time when I go to the Laboratory.
Again? Isn't this like the second time since the movie came out?