“Snakes on Plane” may seem like a problem that only characters in movies have, but a private plane pilot actually had to make an emergency landing Monday when a venomous snake slithered up his back.
South African pilot Rudolph Erasmus told multiple outlets about the frightening experience.
“I felt this cool sensation, sort of, crawling up my shirt,” he said, according to the BBC. It was in the area near his love handles, NPR said.
He thought it might be his water bottle. Per the reports, it was actually a Cape Cobra.
“Due to its highly toxic venom, its unrelenting aggressive demeanor, and its propensity to live near human habitats, the Cape Cobra is clearly one of the most dangerous snakes in Africa, and should be considered in the same magnitude of emergency as bites by the Black Mamba (Dendroaspis polylepis polylepis),” said the University of San Diego about the snakes. “It frequently bites when handled or molested; clinical envenomation is often fatal.”
Some people die within 30 minutes of being bit, said the BBC.
After feeling the snake, Erasmus saw it disappear underneath a seat on the Beechcraft Baron 58 plane he was operating. Four passengers were also on board and the aircraft was around 11,000 ft. in the air.
Erasmus said that at first, he did not register what was happening. Then, he had to think carefully about how to explain the situation to the plane’s passengers so they would not panic.
“I did inform the passengers: ‘Listen the snake is inside the aircraft, it’s underneath my seat, so let’s try and get down to the ground as soon as we can,’” he explained. They responded with silence, Erasmus said.
After departing from Bloemfontein the plane was on its way to Pretoria per the BBC or Nelspruit, per NPR. Instead the pilot made an emergency landing in Welkom. Back at the Worcester flying club where the plan took off from, people working said they spotted the snake under the plane before the plane left and unsuccessfully tried to grab it, said the BBC.
Once the Cape Cobra disappeared under the plane’s seat, it didn’t pop up again. Erasumus thinks it must have crawled out of the aircraft.
“The slithering passenger is still missing, as engineers who then stripped the plane are yet to find it,” the BBC said.
Poppy Khosa, the South African Civil Aviation commissioner, praised Erasumus’ response to the situation.
“Oh my goodness this could have been disastrous,” she said, according to News 24. “Great airmanship indeed which saved all lives on board. Such an amazing story and great handling of the situation by the pilot. Bravo to great airmanship.”
According to Insider, the pilot doesn’t think he is a hero.
“Everybody was a big help, to be honest, and as I said the passengers remaining calm helped a lot,” he told the outlet. “I think the whole ‘hero’ thing is a bit blown up.”
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