Snakes on a Plane

Plot hole: The snakes escape from the locked box stored in the cargo hold when a small explosive bolt detonates and opens the lid. Post 9/11 all luggage placed in the cargo hold of an airliner would be tested for explosives, and anything larger than half a match head would be detected. The chances of getting an explosive bolt on board - nil. None whatever. You can also think of it this way - if the bad guys could somehow smuggle explosives on board, why bother with such an elaborate and flawed plan as letting snakes loose on the plane? Why not just smuggle a bomb on board? Pan Am 103 - the so-called Lockerbie flight - was brought down with a bomb that fit inside a small cassette player.

Upvote valid corrections to help move entries into the corrections section.

Suggested correction: They wanted to make it look like an accident. If the snakes had done their job fully, plane crashes and no-one is the wiser. If the plane blew up halfway it would have screamed foul play. As it was in the movie it was just a terrible accident, a bunch of snakes being shipped got loose.

That doesn't correct the posting. The error is that they could not have smuggled a package equipped with an explosive bolt onto the airliner in the first place. It would have been detected and the package removed from the airliner and either defused or safely detonated. As for nobody being the wiser after the plane crashes, what were all those dead snakes doing scattered about the wreckage?

Plot hole: The snakes are contained in the cargo hold which is shown to be unpressurised on this aircraft (there is an altimeter which releases the snakes after it hits 35000 feet - if the hold was pressurised it would level off at cabin pressure, which is about 8,000 feet). A cargo door is left open to allow the snakes into the passenger compartment, but this would either cause the plane to not pressurise properly, causing everyone on board severe breathing problems if not worse, or would keep the hold at cabin pressure, meaning the altimeter would never reach the right level to release the snakes.

Factual error: One of the subplots involves a young boy ("Tommy") who is bitten by a cobra and the attempts to save his life. When they are working on his arm, it is horribly swollen & filled with fluid which they drain by cutting open his arm. Cobras secrete a neurotoxic venom which attacks the nervous system. It would not cause noticeable swelling at the bite site. The symptoms Tommy has would indicate a bite from a snake which secretes a hemotoxic venom (such as a rattlesnake), which attacks the blood stream & tissues, causing swelling.

More mistakes in Snakes on a Plane

Trivia: The poster for this movie features two snakes wrapped around a plane in a double helix style, with the film title across the middle, However some posters feature the same snakes/planes but with the title underneath. Take a closer look at this second type of poster and match each snake's head to its tail. if you match the right snaked head to the left tail the other snake head doesn't match up to the tail. Try this in any combination you like, ie. left head/left tail or right head/left tail. You will always be left with a head not matching a tail.

Trivia: Take a look at the button the flight attendant presses when he puts the snake in the microwave. It's conveniently labelled "Snake".

Nick Bylsma

Trivia: During filming, Samuel L. Jackson did not come into contact with any live snakes, because a contract clause prevented snakes from being within 25 feet (8 m) of the actor.

Jedd Jong

Neville Flynn: Enough is enough! I have had it with these motherfucking snakes on this motherfucking plane!

Question: Is it legal to have sex in an airline bathroom?

Answer: It depends on whose airspace you are in when it occurs, whether or not anyone else sees you (public indecency), the laws of the nation that the airline is based in, etc.

Grumpy Scot

Question: I live in Southern California and I can hear the snakes 50 yards away. Knowing that there were rattlesnakes on the plane, wouldn't people on the plane have heard them?

Answer: Rattlesnakes only make a noise when they are disturbed and some rattlesnakes will even strike without starting to rattle first.

Myridon

Question: Why did the businessman think he was going to get to his meeting late since first class was closed?

Answer: He doesn't; he's just an asshole who likes to complain.

Trailer not working?

Join the mailing list

Separate from membership, this is to get updates about mistakes in recent releases. Addresses are not passed on to any third party, and are used solely for direct communication from this site. You can unsubscribe at any time.

Check out the mistake & trivia books, on Kindle and in paperback.