A 40cm non-venomous snake discovered under the carpet of a Japan Air Commuter plane forced the cancellation of a flight and triggered a 24-hour search by a wildlife control expert. The reptile was found by a mechanic at Fukuoka airport at around 1pm on Monday, according to Kyodo News.
Incident at Fukuoka airport
The flight, which was due to depart for the Kagoshima prefecture at that time, had earlier landed from Izumo airport. The snake's presence was detected while the crew were preparing for departure, leading to the cancellation.
It remains unclear how the snake managed to get into the cabin, with no similar incident having occurred before. Japan Airlines said in a statement: "As far as we can determine, there has never been a case of a snake getting into the cabin. We are sorry for the inconvenience caused to passengers."
Previous snake incidents
The snake was determined to be likely from the wild but completely harmless. This incident is not the first involving snakes on aircraft. In 2019, a man accidentally carried a snake on board a flight from Florida after it slithered into his rucksack. The 20-year-old realised he had brought a guest in the form of a 30cm-long black racer snake when he arrived at his rental property in Pukalani, Maui.
AirAsia has also experienced a snake in the cabin, with a flight rerouted in 2022 after a pale yellow reptile was spotted along the lighting panel.
