Virgin Australia engineers discovered a surprising stowaway during a pre-flight check at Melbourne Airport.
The airline tweeted an image of an owl feeling right at home inside the engine of a Boeing 737.
"The cute little guy was found during our pre-flight checks which is a good reminder of why we do them. Our team of engineers rescued it and it was checked out before being safely released back into the wild," Virgin said on Twitter.
Wildlife at airports is relatively common although the ever-present danger of bird strikes is the major hazard for safe commercial flight operations.
In 2016, data shows there were about five incidents involving wildlife every day, although this is significantly more common for recreational aviation than commercial jetliners, according to the ATSB.
