Snake on a plane forces pilot to make an emergency landing
In a real-life version of the 2006 movie “Snakes on a Plane”, a pilot in South Africa was forced to make an emergency landing after a venomous snake managed to slither onboard.
According to CNN, pilot Rudolf Erasmus was flying a small aircraft on Monday and was travelling with four of his colleagues.
In the middle of the flight, he recalled feeling a “cold sensation… underneath my shirt at my hip area.”
He told CNN, “At first, I thought my water bottle was leaking. As I then turned to my left and I looked down, I saw the head of the snake receding back underneath my seat.”
He said that he had “a moment of stunned silence.”
“It was more as if my brain did not register what is going on to be truly honest,” he said. “It was a moment of disbelief, I think.”
It was no ordinary snake: it was a venomous large cape cobra that airport staff had been searching for after it had been spotted under the engine before the flight. Since they couldn’t find the snake, they assumed that it had gone “on his merry way.”
Erasmus informed air traffic controllers and passengers that he had “a bit of a situation” and landed the plane.
The pilot and the four passengers were “unscathed” and the snake was found under the pilot’s seat.
Poppy Khoza, director of civil aviation at South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA), commended Erasmus for remaining calm “in the face of a dangerous situation and managed to land the aircraft safely without any harm to him or his fellow passengers on board.”
We’re pretty sure Samuel L. Jackson would also approve of this level of badassery.
Snakes on a Plane/IMDB
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