Snake on plane scares passengers in Mexico

A green snake appeared on an Aeromexico flight en route from Torreon in the north, to the capital Mexico City.

The non-poisonous snake emerged on Sunday from the ceiling behind the overhead luggage compartment in a scene reminiscent of the Hollywood film, Snakes on a Plane.

"I was reading a magazine and the passenger next to me saw it and gasped, "Oh my word!" passenger Indalecio Medina told media.

He estimated the size at over one metre (3 feet) in length.

Cellphone video shot by Medina showed the reptile slithering before dropping down into the cabin.

Passengers hastily unbuckled themselves to get clear of the dangling snake before it dropped to the floor where people trapped it between rows five and six with blankets provided by a flight attendant, Medina said.

"It was a frightening situation ... but people remained calm because it didn't get out of that space and nobody became hysterical," Medina said. "Some people got up to see what kind of reptile it was, but nobody got carried away."

The plane was given priority landing in Mexico City and passengers exited out the rear.

The snake was safely captured by animal control workers.

Aeromexico said in a statement that it was investigating how the snake got into the cabin.