‘Everyone froze’: Deadly snake in cockpit forces pilot to make emergency landing

As if it were straight out of a nightmare, a pilot has found a deadly Cobra in the cockpit while 11,000 feet in the air.

Pilot Rudolf Erasmus spotted the Cape Cobra in the cockpit while 11,000 feet in the air. Pictures: Rudolf Erasmus / Facebook; istock

A South African pilot was confronted with a horror situation this week when he spotted a snake in the cockpit of his private plane.

And not just any snake, a highly venomous Cape Cobra with a bite that can kill a human in as little as 30 minutes.

Rudolf Erasmus was 11,000 feet in the air flying four passengers in his Beechcraft Baron 58 on Monday when he felt something cold against his hip, according Lowvelder, a local news publisher in the city of Nelspruit – the intended final destination of the flight.

Mr Erasmus said he initially thought it was his water bottle leaking but when he looked down, realised it was a much more concerning sight.

“It was receding under my chair. I kept quiet for minute or two, because I didn’t want the passengers to panic,” he said.

Pilot Rudolf Erasmus spotted the Cape Cobra in the cockpit while 11,000 feet in the air. Picture: Rudolf Erasmus / Facebook

He then had to tell them and make an emergency landing in the city of Welkom, which took about 10 to 15 minutes.

Fortunately, everyone remained calm – including the snake.

Mr Erasmus told the BBC he was “so scared the snake might have gone to the back and cause mass panic”.

When he told his four passengers there was a snake on-board, there was silence.

“You could hear a needle drop and I think everyone froze for a moment or two,” he said.

As of Wednesday, it was reported the snake was still yet to be found despite engineers stripping parts of the plane to find it.

A bite from a Cape Cobra can be fatal. Picture: istock

A snake was said to have been spotted near the aircraft on Sunday in Worcester, where the aircraft first took off from, but was not seen again on Monday before the flight.

“ … we all then safely assumed that it must have crawled out overnight or earlier that morning, which was on Monday,” Mr Erasmus told BBC.

The Beechcraft Baron 58 after it made an emergency landing in Welkom. Picture: Brian Emmenis / Facebook

South African Civil Aviation commissioner Poppy Khoza said the pilot saved the lives of his passengers.

“Oh my goodness this could have been disastrous. 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,” said Ms Khoza, according to South African news website News24.