“When we did the preflight [procedure] on Monday morning, the people at Worcester airfield told us they had seen a Cape cobra lying underneath the wing on Sunday afternoon. They tried to catch it themselves but unfortunately it sought refuge inside the engine cowlings.”
The group opened the cowlings to check but the snake was not there so they assumed it had slithered away.
When they neared Welkom, Erasmus said he felt something strange on his body.
“I usually travel with a water bottle that I lodge between my leg and my hip towards the side wall of the aircraft. When I felt this cold sensation where my love handles are, I thought my bottle was dripping,” he said.
“As I turned to my left and looked down, I saw the cobra putting its head back underneath my seat. I had a moment of stunned silence, not sure if I should tell the passengers because I didn't want to cause a panic. But obviously they needed to know at some point what was going on.
“I just said, 'Listen, there's a problem. The snake is inside the aircraft. I've got a feeling it's under my seat, so we are going to have to get the plane on the ground as soon as possible.'”
Aviation specialist and air show commentator Brian Emmenis said once they landed, he arranged for a snake catcher to come and they worked until last light to catch the snake.
“Once it was dark, they realised that they were endangering their lives by trying to find the snake. They put mealie meal around the aircraft so that should the snake come out they would see the tracks in the morning. At 9am everybody was back on the scene but there was no sign of the snake, so they continued the search,” he said.
TimesLIVE
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POLL | What would you do if there were snakes on the plane you were on?
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A pilot flying four passengers from Cape Town to Mbombela (formerly Nelspruit) had to make an emergency landing in Welkom, in the Free State, when an unwelcome passenger — a highly venomous Cape cobra — slid down his back.
Once Rudolf Erasmus landed, he and his passengers made an exit from the Beechcraft Baron.
He has since been hailed as a hero by many for his calm response to the situation.
Speaking to TimesLIVE, Erasmus said he had never experienced anything quite like it.
“This was definitely a first and not something you get trained to handle, to be honest,” he said.
“When we did the preflight [procedure] on Monday morning, the people at Worcester airfield told us they had seen a Cape cobra lying underneath the wing on Sunday afternoon. They tried to catch it themselves but unfortunately it sought refuge inside the engine cowlings.”
The group opened the cowlings to check but the snake was not there so they assumed it had slithered away.
When they neared Welkom, Erasmus said he felt something strange on his body.
“I usually travel with a water bottle that I lodge between my leg and my hip towards the side wall of the aircraft. When I felt this cold sensation where my love handles are, I thought my bottle was dripping,” he said.
“As I turned to my left and looked down, I saw the cobra putting its head back underneath my seat. I had a moment of stunned silence, not sure if I should tell the passengers because I didn't want to cause a panic. But obviously they needed to know at some point what was going on.
“I just said, 'Listen, there's a problem. The snake is inside the aircraft. I've got a feeling it's under my seat, so we are going to have to get the plane on the ground as soon as possible.'”
Aviation specialist and air show commentator Brian Emmenis said once they landed, he arranged for a snake catcher to come and they worked until last light to catch the snake.
“Once it was dark, they realised that they were endangering their lives by trying to find the snake. They put mealie meal around the aircraft so that should the snake come out they would see the tracks in the morning. At 9am everybody was back on the scene but there was no sign of the snake, so they continued the search,” he said.
TimesLIVE
Support independent journalism by subscribing to the Sunday Times. Just R20 for the first month.
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