A Rowley's palm pit viper (Bothriechis rowleyi) is in a striking position at the Saint Louis Zoo in Saint Louis, Missouri. (Photo : Getty Images/Joel Sartore)
Passengers on board a commercial flight to Mexico were in for a shock when they saw a snake slithering out of the overhead cabin ceiling. Footage of the incident, which has since gone viral, shows the venomous reptile dangling from the baggage compartment right above terrified passengers.
Like a scene right out of Hollywood film "Snakes on a Plane," the green snake was spotted emerging from the overhead compartment by horrified passengers travelling on board an Aeromexico flight en route to Mexico City on Nov. 6, Sunday. Cellphone footage shot by passenger Indalecio Medina shows the serpent wriggling for a few seconds before dropping down into the cabin.
"I was reading a magazine and the passenger next to me saw it and, 'Oh my word!'" Medina told The Associated Press in a telephonic interview. "He estimated it was over three feet (about 1 meter) in length."
As soon as the snake fell on to the floor, the passengers unbuckled their seat belts in a hurry and trapped the reptile between rows five and six using blankets handed over to them by the cabin crew. The snake was later identified as a five-foot-long green viper, a species known to be dangerous because of the fact that its venom is extremely potent and can prove to be fatal.
Cuando sea grande quiero ser como la copiloto de Aeromexico <3 #FelizLunes #LaSemanaIniciaY admiro a una copiloto pic.twitter.com/DbMwd2ih8p
— Ann (@ancnike) November 7, 2016
Medina added that even though it was a scary situation, fellow travellers remained calm and composed because the stowaway did not attempt to escape the trap. She pointed noted that some of the passengers got up from their seats out of curiosity to see what kind of reptile it was, but no one got carried away.
The plane landed ten minutes later after the pilot radioed in and obtained clearance for priority landing in Mexico City. Passengers exited the aircraft from the rear before animal control workers stepped on board to capture the snake.
Aeromexico said that they were trying to find out how the snake got into the cabin and implement measures to ensure a similar incident is not repeated in the future.
"The procedures carried out for this flight are currently being evaluated to determine how the animal entered the cabin and measures have been taken to avoid such incidents in the future," the airline said in a statement to CNN.
Watch the frightening video footage below:
