When an extremely deadly snake was discovered under his seat at 11,000 feet in the air, South African pilot Rudolph Erasmus was compelled to make an emergency landing.
During the flight on Monday, April 3, Erasmus had four people on board when he felt “something cold” creep across his lower back. He looked down and saw the head of a huge Cape Cobra “receding back under the seat,” as he put it.
“It was as if my brain didn’t know what was going on,” he said, according to The Associated Press.
He notified his passengers about the snake on board after taking a moment to collect himself.
“There was a stunned silence,” he explained. Everyone maintained their composure.
Erasmus requested permission from air traffic control to make an emergency landing at the town of Welkom in central South Africa. He still had 10 to 15 minutes to fly and land the plane with the snake curled up by his feet.
“I kept glancing down to see if I could find it. “It was content under the seat,” Erasmus explained. “I don’t have a big fear of snakes, but I usually avoid them.”
Brian Emmenis, a Welkom radio station Gold FM employee and aviation specialist, received a phone call asking if he could assist. He called the fire department, who dispatched emergency personnel and a snake handler to the airport to meet the plane. Emmenis arrived first and witnessed everyone disembark, “visibly shaken,” but all safe thanks to Erasmus.
“He kept his cool and landed that plane with a deadly venomous Cape Cobra curled up beneath his seat,” Emmenis claimed.
Because of the severity of its venom, Cape Cobras are one of Africa’s most lethal cobra species.
