Passenger Gets Off Plane, but Accidentally Leaves Pet Snake Behind

It’s a common mistake to leave something behind on a flight. Maybe you stashed away your headphones in the seatback pocket or stuffed a magazine behind the safety card and forgot all about it. But you’ve probably never left behind a pet on a plane…especially a pet snake!

The BBC writes that this fictional-sounding news story is true – a passenger on a flight headed to Anchorage, Alaska had their pet snake in tow. The snake was due to deboard with its owner in Aniak, Alaska, but the snake escaped its bag and the owner didn’t notice until they were off the flight and the plane was already back in flight.

“Guys, we have some loose snake on the plane, but we don’t know where it is,” the pilot eloquently said through the intercom. Surprisingly, everyone stayed rather calm, even though this wasn’t exactly a tiny snake on the run. Eventually, a little boy spotted the pale 5-foot-long snake creature underneath a duffle bag. ABC 13 reports that a skillfull flight attendant was able to grab the snake and place it in a trash bag and secure in an overhead bin.

The airline isn’t too happy with the passenger who caused the snake on a plane incident since they didn’t declare the pet, but there is no word on any charges they could face.