At this point, there have surely been more “Snakes on a Plane” jokes made on the Internet than there were actual ticket sales to the 2006 film. Even if we weren’t able to make that joke, it’s probably still newsworthy that a snake as narrow as a ballpoint pen has the power to ground an international flight and all of its passengers.

The snake, as it turned out, was eight inches long and not poisonous. Since Australia is home to a terrifying array of poisonous snakes, the plane did not fly to Tokyo as planned. Instead, the snake went into quarantine and the plane stayed in Sydney in case it was infested with more snakes. It was not, and the critter turned out to be a Mandarin ratsnake, a species from Asia.

This is the least terrifying recent incident involving snakes on an Aussie plane. There was the incident last year where a snake came out of the control panel, and the 9-foot python that died en route to Papua New Guinea after stowing away on a passenger jet’s wing earlier this year.

When will you learn, snakes? You can’t fly. You will never fly. Unless it’s in a comfy cage, as a pet, in cargo. Then you might get to fly.

Snake on plane grounds Qantas flight [AFP]

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