Snakes ground Australian airplane; Samuel L. Jackson is notably absent

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Where’s Samuel L. Jackson when you need him? A Qantas airplane was grounded this week when it was discovered that four baby Stimson pythons being transported in its cargo area had escaped. The pythons were traveling from Alice Springs to Melbourne and were contained in a bag inside a foam box with air holes.

Twelve of the nonvenomous snakes were apparently put into the box. Only eight remained there when it was opened, prompting a search that proved futile. The Associated Press reports:

A reptile expert searched for the 6-inch snakes but did not find them. It was not known if the snakes were still on the plane or if they had somehow escaped outside after the plane landed.

In the meantime, the plane missed two flights it had been scheduled to fly and the passengers were transferred to other flights.

When the snakes were not found, the airplane was fumigated and it returned to service on Wednesday.

The pythons can grow to three feet.

An open letter to humanity: please stop traveling with snakes on planes. In February, Australian authorities stopped a man boarding a flight to Bangkok out of Sydney with three black-headed pythons, an albino carpet python, and 40 lizards hidden in his luggage. It didn’t turn out well: he could face up to 10 years in prison and a fine of more than $100,000 for wildlife smuggling.

And we all remember how well the movie turned out.

-- Lindsay Barnett