A snake suddenly appeared above the overhead compartment of a flight in Malaysia during the flight, causing the plane to land in an emergency halfway.
According to comprehensive Malaysian media reports, on February 10, local time, an Airbus A320 AirAsia airbus flew from Kuala Lumpur to Tawau, and during the flight, the cabin was surprised by a long snake, and the plane was diverted to land urgently in Kuching, Sarawak.
According to the video taken by passengers, the slender snake shadow appeared in the lampshade above the cabin near the luggage rack, although there was no big movement, but the picture of sticking out its tongue from time to time was frightening.
The captain explained at the time that due to poor weather, the plane had to land at Kuching Airport in Sarawak.
AirAsia Group safety director Lim Leong Tin later said the flight's captain immediately decided to transfer the plane to Kuching, Sarawak, after learning of the incident. After the plane was transferred to the landing ground, it was immediately sent to board the plane to deal with it. There was no danger to the people on board. The passenger then travels to the destination on another plane.
Mr. Lin said the incident was fairly rare, though any plane could have encountered it. He added that the captain took appropriate action to ensure the safety and well-being of the guests and crew.
The Malaysian Civil Aviation Authority commended the captain for handling the incident.
More than 2 million people watched the video on TikTok. Some viewers commented that it reminded them of samuel L. Jackson's 2006 action film Snake on the Plane.
At present, it is unclear whether the snake is wild or belongs to a passenger.
It is understood that although snakes on planes are rare, they do occur from time to time.
On November 6, 2016, an Aeromexico flight from Torreón to Mexico City took off, and after takeoff, passengers noticed that a large green snake appeared in the luggage compartment above the seat, about 5 feet (about 1.5 meters), frightening many passengers, and the plane also landed urgently.
In March 2017, on Flight 7133 from Anjak to Anchorage, a 1.5-meter-long snake crawled out of the luggage bag of an abandoned passenger on board, and the flight attendant caught it in a garbage bag, and the plane flew as planned. It is reported that the pet snake was carried by a passenger on the previous flight and forgot to take it with him after getting off the plane.
On June 7, 2020, a snake was also spotted on Vietnam's low-cost carrier Vietjet Flight VJ162 from Ho Chi Minh City to Hanoi, leading to a change of aircraft. On the same day, when the plane was about to take off, the flight attendant found a snake on the luggage rack, and the flight attendant immediately reported the captain and evacuated the passengers sitting in the nearby seats to another seat. The captain then decided to return the plane to the tarmac, disembark all passengers and fly with another plane.