United Airlines passengers were freaked out by the sudden discovery of a snake as their plane from Tampa taxied at Newark Liberty International Airport.
The garter snake, colloquially called a “garden snake,” was discovered Monday by a passenger as it slithered underfoot, having gone undetected during the plane’s flight.
Once aware of the creature, passengers in business class “started shrieking and pulling their feet up,” according to local cable outlet News 12 New Jersey.
ESPN NBA analyst Timothy Legler corroborated that story on Twitter, writing, “I was in the same row across the aisle! Adults pulling feet up on their seats 🤣🤣Not gonna lie, I got a little freaked out when I realized my backpack was wide open on the floor 😳.”
Despite their fears, the garter snake is a nonvenomous species, and as its other moniker suggests, helps keep gardens clear of other pests by preying on them.
United Airlines notified airport authorities “after being alerted by passengers” of the reptile, and officials from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey met the plane at the gate and “removed the garden snake,” CNN reported.
Unlike the 2006 Samuel L. Jackson movie “Snakes on A Plane,” there was only the singular snake; following the deplaning, authorities searched the aircraft for any other free-riding reptiles and found none, according to Simple Flying, an independent aviation news site.
The plane was only held up for 20 minutes before departing to Fort Myers, Florida.
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