Spirit Airlines passengers were in for quite a surprise when they realized a creature was hitchhiking on their flight!

The unexpected run-in involving what appeared to be a rat occurred last week on a Spirit Airlines flight traveling from Dallas to Los Angeles, per a clip shared by Dallas Texas TV of the incident. The exact date of the animal sighting is not clear.

In the video, the outline of what appears to be a large rodent’s front paws can be seen through the glass paneling on the ceiling of the cabin. The animal then seems to sniff something before turning its body to scurry away. 

“Super rat!” a passenger can be heard saying in the background. 

PEOPLE has reached out to Spirit Airlines for comment but did not receive an immediate reply. 

Spirit Airlines plane.
Brandon Bell/Getty Images

In the comments, one user pointed out how the rodent appeared too large to be a rat. 

“That’s a possum,” one person wrote, followed by another adding, “I thought it was a racoon.”

Others poked fun at the situation and noted that the creature must be very well traveled 

“He’s probably been all over the world,” a user joked. “Been more places than 90% of us,” added another.

A snake slithering outside.

Getty


This isn’t the first time a wild creature has hitched a ride on an airplane. 

In October 2022, a garden snake was spotted on the floor of a United Airlines plane that was heading to New Jersey’s Newark Liberty International Airport from Tampa, Fla.

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Once the aircraft landed and started taxiing on the runway, “passengers in business class started shrieking and pulling their feet up,” one traveler who was on the flight recalled to News 12 New Jersey

After being notified of the snake’s presence, police and operations employees met the plane at the gate and quickly worked to remove the reptile, United confirmed to PEOPLE in a statement at the time.

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