Rudolph Erasmus (30) had to declare an emergency over Welkom when a highly venomous Cape Cobra made its appearance in the small aircraft and slid across his lower back.
He glanced down to see the head of a fairly large Cape cobra "receding back under the seat," he said.
"It was as if my brain didn't know what was going on," he said.After taking a moment to compose himself, he informed his passengers of the slippery stowaway.
"There was a moment of stunned silence," he said.
Everyone stayed cool, especially the pilot. Mr Erasmus called air traffic control for permission to make an emergency landing in the town of Welkom in central South Africa.
He still had to fly for another 10 to 15 minutes and land the plane with the snake curled up by his feet.
"I kept looking down to see where it was. It was happy under the seat," Mr Erasmus said.
"I don't have a big fear of snakes, but I normally don't go near them."
Brian Emmenis, who works at Welkom radio station Gold FM and is also an aviation expert, received a phone call to see if he could help. He called the fire and rescue department, which sent emergency responders and a snake handler to meet the plane at the airport.
When we did the preflight procedure on Monday morning, people at 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, but the snake was not there, so they assumed it had slithered away from the aircraft.
Erasmus is being hailed as a hero for his quick and calm response to a very dangerous situation.
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