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Australian pilot tells airport, ‘I’ve got a snake on board the plane,’ reverses course

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CANBERRA, Australia — An Australian pilot said he was forced to make a harrowing landing reminiscent of a Hollywood thriller after a snake popped out from behind his dashboard and slithered across his leg during a solo cargo flight. Braden Blennerhassett — unsure whether the snake was venomous — said Thursday that his heart raced as he tried to keep his hands still while maneuvering the plane back to the northern city of Darwin. The snake popped its head out from behind the instrument panel… (www.washingtonpost.com) More...

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harwood1980
Sean Harwood 4
I can't say I would have kept my cool like that. I'm almost having a panic attack here in my office after just reading that story!
preacher1
preacher1 1
I can remember hunting/catching live rattlesnakes out in Oklahoma, along the Red River, but I don't care about gettting within a half mile of one today; of course we were bullet and bite proof in those days.LOL
HunterTS4
Toby Sharp 1
Wayne.......U sir, are insane!
HunterTS4
Toby Sharp 1
sorry to post twice
HunterTS4
Toby Sharp -1
Preach........you are insane sir
preacher1
preacher1 1
Well, Toby, at 18, we were bite proof and bulletproof.LOL. Just like teenagers today.LOL
You did read the rest of the post that I have no hankering today. Much older & wiser.LOL
Josephgirone
Joseph Girone 7
I'm not ashamed to say that I'd have been freaking out! LOL
Gudseeds
Gudseeds 3
It says "According to EcologyAsia.com, golden tree snakes, or Chrysopelea ornata, are non-venemous, can grow up to 5 feet (or 1.5 meters) long and are "able to glide through the air."

I would have 'just thrown it out the window then' ! You want to fly fella.. 'Here ya Go' !
THRUSTT
THRUSTT 1
I had a venomous moment too at the higher, colder altitudes. I felt something by my knee hardening, it was the snake in my trousers...
Gudseeds
Gudseeds 1
No.. I think they get 'Smaller'..or at least.. "That's what She Say's " ! ;o)
btweston
btweston 0
Do you write your own material?
Gudseeds
Gudseeds 1
Thats the way it was reported on Yahoo News..! ie: It say's.. 'It was a Golden Tree Snake!

Pigweed298
Roy Kizzia 2
So, life imitating art.
WigzellRM
Ralph Wigzell 2
I had a similar experience in our 727 in Africa. We would find droppings in the cockpit in the mornings. I set up a trap and the creature set off the trap but wasn't caught in it. For a while we flew around with our feet up on the footrests in case it was a snake, but it tuned out to be a cat LOL!.
Derg
Roland Dent 1
Ralph can you remember an incident with an RJ maybe 18 months ago where it was claimed a baby crocodile escaped from hand luggage and cause a total loss due to unstable loading of frightened pax? That was somewhere in Africa I think?
silas1898
kevin warns 1
Crocodile crash in Congo departing Kinshasa. 20 killed.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/democraticrepublicofcongo/8078612/Aircraft-crashes-after-crocodile-on-board-escapes-and-sparks-panic.html
WigzellRM
Ralph Wigzell 1
Yes, a whole bunch of people died :(
WigzellRM
Ralph Wigzell 1
It could be in the ASN database
onceastudentpilot
tim mitchell 2
all I can say is that they would have found the plane in the ditch at the end or along side the runway..lol....as soon as I would have heard the wheels touch I would have been out.....not much better with spiders...lol
proalley
Jeffery Frayer 2
I'm sorry, but I am chuckling the whole way through this article simply because I had one come out of the bottom of my dashboard of my truck while on top of a huge bridge. It was biting my foot as it came down, luckily I was wearing boots. Still scared the hell out of me because I could only see a small part of it and I could not pull over.
chalet
chalet 1
I know who done it (psssst, it was his wife, but don't tell anybody LOL!!!).
btweston
btweston 1
Crocodile Hunter was cool... But I don't ever need to go to Australia.
kdhurne
Ken Hurne 1
My instructor described flying as long hours of sheer boredom with short moments of stark terror. This is not the kind of terror I would have ever imagined encountering. But then, he was enroute to Darwin.
WDBerry
Wallace Berry 1
Africa - a number of years ago
black mamba - climb climb bring temp down

rapid descent (very) get the h--- out of airplane NOW
which is worse the known or unknown
wb
preacher1
preacher1 1
Best I remember, Black Mamba kinda venomous and very mean. Sounds like the reasonable and prudent thing to do.LOL
Moviela
Ric Wernicke 1
Quickest way to get a malingering woman out of the airplane restroom is to stand by the door and say "Did you see that snake go in there?"
PATRON66
James Mason 1
You're a lot calmer than most people would be, with a snake sliding over your leg! Good nerves!
rocket6
Kevin Cavanagh 1
There's a fair few Aussie snakes that are deadly but usually quite timid, except eastern browns - nasty. Its not easy to identify one from the other. I'd say he'll pay particular attention to his cargo in the future. And take a spare pair of undies.
erictuff
Eric Tuff 0
(Duplicate Squawk Submitted)

Snake on a Plane

Something they don't teach you in flight school

http://www.denverpost.com/watercooler/ci_20330612/pilot-turns-back-after-snake-pops-out-dashboard
Derg
Roland Dent -1
Was all a dream..never happened.
preacher1
preacher1 1
Roland, I hope you are intending a bit of sarcasm here.lol
Derg
Roland Dent 2
Well the thing is Wayne I learned to keep stumm....not good to have 200 people running from one end of the plane to the other..kinda upsets the balance..so if a reptile, any reptile, happens to appear it is all a dream...that or a rubber toy...see..
preacher1
preacher1 1
10-4.lol
Shadowstarz
Shadowstarz 0
(Duplicate Squawk Submitted)

Snake Pops Out Of Plane Dashboard During Flight (VIDEO)

CANBERRA, Australia -- An airline executive says a pilot on a cargo run found a snake loose in his light plane and turned back to his north Australian base.

In a scene reminiscent of the 2006 movie "Snakes on a Plane," pilot Braden Blennerhassett saw the snake's head pop out from under the dashboard of his twin-engine Beechcraft Baron G58 shortly after takeoff from Darwin airport on Tuesday.

Air Frontier director Geoff Hunt said Thursday that his employee was a "cool character" who told air traffic control: "I'm going to have to return to Darwin. I've got a snake on board the plane."

The reptile quickly slithered away. A snake handler was later unable to find the snake, which might have escaped after the plane landed. The snake's species is not known.


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/05/snake-on-a-plane-compels-aussie-pilot_n_1405781.html?icid=maing-grid7%7Caim%7Cdl4%7Csec3_lnk3%26pLid%3D149600

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