Snake on a plane shocks passengers

Passengers on a flight from Australia were shocked to look out their cabin windows - to see a huge snake on the wing.

The 10ft long Amethystine python was clinging on to a flight from Cairns to Papua New Guinea, reports the Daily Telegraph.

"Halfway to Papua New Guinea, passengers reported seeing a snake clinging to the wing," a Qantas spokesman said of the snake.

A crew member told Australian media that the initial reaction when the python's presence was first reported was "you've got to be kidding".

The stowaway was believed to have crawled onto the plane from scrubland or mangroves that surround the airport in tropical Cairns.

Amethystine pythons, which are non-poisonous, are also known as scrub pythons and can grow to as long as 28ft. It was found dead on arrival.