Cobra on a plane! A venomous Cape Cobra forced a Beechcraft Baron 58 plane to make an emergency landing in South Africa after slithering down the back of the pilot during a flight from Bloemfontein to Pretoria. Image: Pizabay.
Cobra Chaos: Emergency landing after venomous snake found on SA plane
A local pilot made a heroic emergency landing after a Cape Cobra slithered down his back during a flight from Bloemfontein to Pretoria.
Cobra on a plane! A venomous Cape Cobra forced a Beechcraft Baron 58 plane to make an emergency landing in South Africa after slithering down the back of the pilot during a flight from Bloemfontein to Pretoria. Image: Pizabay.
A Beechcraft Baron 58 plane carrying four passengers from Bloemfontein to Pretoria was forced to make an emergency landing after a “fifth passenger” slithered down the back of the pilot.
HEROIC PILOT PULLS OFF EMERGENCY LANDING AFTER COBRA SPOTTED
The pilot, Rudolph Erasmus, described feeling a cool sensation on his back before spotting the snake – a Cape Cobra.- at 11 000 feet in the air.
The deadly snake’s venom can kill in just 30 minutes. Erasmus informed his passengers and asked them to prepare for an emergency landing in Welkom, Free State.
According to BBC News, two people working at the Worcester Flying Club, where the plane departed from, said they spotted the cobra taking refuge under the plane. They reportedly attempted to grab it but were unsuccessful.
The snake remains missing. Engineers have stripped the plane, but it is yet to be found.
Civil Aviation Commissioner, Poppy Khosa, praised Erasmus’s great airmanship and said he saved the lives of all on board.
The pilot, however, cited the passengers’ calmness as a contributing factor to the successful landing.
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