The New York Times (NYT) reported on the 7th (local time) that a venomous snake cobra appeared and made an emergency landing on a light aircraft flying in the sky of South Africa.
On the 3rd, pilot Rudolph Erasmus (30) took off from the Western Cape to Mbombela with four passengers in a Beechcraft ‘Baron 58’, a six-seater twin-engine plane.
While flying at an altitude of 11,000 feet (about 3,353 m), he suddenly felt something cold in the hip area under his shirt.
At first I thought the bottle might be leaking, but after a while I looked down to my left and was horrified to see a snake’s head under my feet.
It was a cobra reaching a length of 4 to 5 feet (about 122 to 152 cm).
Erasmus said, “I was stunned by the unbelievable scene, and I couldn’t say anything for a moment.”
Once he had calmed down, he informed the passengers wearing headsets that there was an uninvited guest on board, and that he had found the cobra, and turned the plane to the nearest airport.
Passengers waited with bated breath, and only breathed a sigh of relief when the plane landed after about 10 to 15 minutes and they got out safely one by one.
In fact, Western Cape airport staff witnessed a Cape cobra getting on it before the plane took off, but it was not seen during the pre-takeoff inspection, so they only thought the snake had gone out.
The Cape cobra is found in southern Africa, including South Africa, Botswana and Namibia. It can reach up to 7 feet (about 213 cm) in length, and if bitten by this snake, the poison can cause respiratory problems and, in severe cases, death.
Erasmus last confirmed that the cobra was coiled under the cockpit after landing, but it was not found again during a two-day search process by disassembling parts of the plane, leaving the snake’s presence a mystery, the NYT reported.
Two days later, on the 5th, Erasmus decided to return to the Western Cape on the same plane two days later. This time, it is said that he blocked the holes drilled throughout the plane in advance to prevent the invasion of snakes.
An official from the South African Aviation Authority said, “It is extremely rare for pilots to experience such a terrifying event in flight.”