It wasn't a bird, or a plane, but a bat on a plane.
Social media posts of a bat flying around a Spirit Airlines plane have gone viral.
At least two passengers shared footage of the bat as it zoomed over the heads of passengers from one side of the plane to the other.
In one of the videos posted to Twitter a passenger can be heard jokingly saying: "It's the Batplane," and another responds in a fit of giggles saying "It's the Batmobile... Hey Batman."
me, twice a year: “i’ll never fly spirit again.”
me, this morning, after deciding i’d rather save 12 dollars: pic.twitter.com/ASqk3bb89j
%%%twitter https://twitter.com/karenhunter?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@karenhunter pic.twitter.com/lV0HgHptjY
— My friends call me Lisa (@adrilisasmiddle)
It was no laughing matter for the airlines management though who responded to the incident with a statement to HuffPost.
In the statement Spirit Airlines confirms that the bat was removed and " the aircraft was disinfected and searched as a precaution."
The statement further reads: "It is believed the bat started its journey in Charlotte, flying into an overhead bin while our crews were doing overnight maintenance."
Peter Scattini tweeted one of the bat videos and later said: "i also want to make clear that this bat appeared WHILE WE WERE 30 MINUTES INTO OUR FLIGHT. 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."