Passengers on board a Spirit Airlines flight got more than they bargained for Wednesday morning when a bat began flying around inside the airplane.
Video footage showed the creature as it flew over people’s heads on a flight from North Carolina to New Jersey, squeaking as it went from one end of the plane to the other.
“Where it came from? No idea. Eventually someone trapped it between a book & a cup and then locked it in one of the restrooms for the remainder of the trip,” wrote 23-year-old Peter Scattini, who caught the incident on video and later posted it to Twitter where it went viral.
“Me, twice a year: ‘i’ll never fly Spirit again.’ Me, this morning, after deciding i’d rather save 12 dollars,’ Scattini concluded.
A spokesman for Spirit Airlines later told Newsweek that they confirmed “a stowaway bat was located on one of our recent flights from Charlotte to Newark,” adding that “The bat was eventually corralled into a lavatory and removed once on the ground by animal control officers.”
Officials said the plane was disinfected and searched after landing and said they believe the bat hid inside the craft the night before.
“It is believed the bat started its journey in Charlotte, flying into an overhead bin while our crews were doing overnight maintenance. No one was hurt in this incident, including the bat,” they concluded.
Several other people also caught the moment on video and passengers can be heard exclaiming, “It’s the Batplane,” and “It’s the Batmobile!”
A woman reportedly said she saw the winged creature five minutes before it began flying around. “I thought I was, like, hallucinating,” she recalled.
One Twitter user commented that the incident reminded him of an episode of The Office where Dwight traps a bat in a plastic bag.
“When I saw the FA (flight attendant) peaking out of the lav, all I could think of was Dwight and Meredith,” the post said.