Snakes Spotted Inside Qantas A380 During Storage

Everyone is astonished by the Airbus A380… and so are snakes! Today, rattlesnakes and even some scorpions were spotted on a Qantas Airbus A380 which is in storage in Victorville, California! The snakes were spotted resting in the aircraft's wheel wells.

While it may seem very weird that a snake would like to rest in an airplane wheel well, it is rattlesnake season in California and snakes like the low humidity there. As much as it may be a hazard for the engineers there, they say that it is very normal and some "wheel whackers" will chase the snakes away. Also, there is a protective film around common insect hiding areas to keep insects out of the airplane parts. It is likely that these A380s will stick around there for 2-3 years, so the engineers should get used to it soon!

This will likely not oppose any harm to airplane systems and the aircraft will be checked thoroughly before it can fly again.

A statement by Qantas was given following the recent discovery:

"It (Victorville) is also the ideal environment for the highly venomous Mojave rattlesnakes and scorpions, both of which are prone to setting up camp around the wheel wells and tires of slumbering aircraft

We’ve encountered a few rattlesnakes and also some scorpions,It’s a unique part of looking after these aircraft while they’re in storage, and it’s another sign of how strange the past year has been.

Every aircraft has its own designated “wheel whacker” (a repurposed broom handle) as part of the engineering kit, complete with each aircraft’s registration written on it.

The first thing we do before we unwrap and start any ground inspections of the landing gear, in particular, is to walk around the aircraft stomping our feet and tapping the wheels with a wheel whacker to wake up and scare off the snakes."

Are you shocked at this discovery?

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Image: Unknown Source

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Written by: Sohail Sawlani

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