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- Rudolf Erasmus was flying four passengers from Bloemfontein to Pretoria when he spotted a large Cape cobra onboard the plane.
- He said the snake had moved from where he last saw it, after he safely landed the aircraft.
- Erasmus said the reptile had still not been found.
A courageous pilot, who managed to land an aircraft safely after discovering a venomous snake onboard, says he hopes the incident is the first and last time he has an uninvited visitor.
A Nelspruit pilot, Rudolf Erasmus, 30, was flying four passengers from Bloemfontein to Tshwane on 3 April when he spotted a large Cape cobra. He calmly alerted his passengers before landing the light aircraft.
Speaking to News24 on Tuesday, Erasmus recalled his shock when he discovered the snake.
"I had this moment of disbelief that my brain did not register. I became somewhat cold. It's not a massive aircraft I was flying, and anything could've happened."
Erasmus said they initially travelled from the Western Cape to Mbombela, including a few stops in between.
READ | 'Courageous' SA pilot praised for remaining 'calm' after discovering Cape cobra on plane
"The first leg was from Worcester to Bram Fischer, the second leg was from Bram Fischer to Wonderboom, and then the last was from Wonderboom to Nelspruit," he said.
Erasmus, who has been a pilot for about seven years, said he became aware of the snake when flying from Bram Fischer Airport to Wonderboom.
"I felt something cold against my hip. At the moment, I thought it was my water bottle leaking. I was not expecting a snake, to be truly honest."
Erasmus said initially he wasn't sure about telling his passengers there was a snake on board because he didn't know how they'd react - but, luckily, the passengers remained calm and did not panic until he landed safely.
When asked how the snake could've found its way into the aircraft, Erasmus suggested that it might have needed a place to hide its head and keep calm due to the hot weather in Worcester.
"On Sunday, the Worcester staff told us they saw a snake. We opened our engines and searched, but could not find it. We assumed it had left the craft," he said.
Following the search, Erasmus said they performed the usual pre-flight check on Monday, and the snake was still not found.
READ | Emergency landing after snake slides down pilot’s back
"Before flying the craft, we did pre-flight checks, 30 to 40 minutes before departure. We check that the documents are in order and do mechanical checks around and inside the aircraft. And everything was in order," he said.
Erasmus said that, when they landed, he checked to see if the snake was still there.
"I saw the snake still curled up under my seat. By the time the snake catcher came, it had escaped. We are not entirely sure if it's still in the plane," he said.
Joking about what could've been a deadly incident, Erasmus said he had to take precautions when flying after the discovery.
"I took some safety precautions on Wednesday before flying back again. I took blankets and tried to cover all the holes where it could come through. I don't know how that will help, but it's something."
He remarked that he couldn't believe how well he handled the emergency.
Erasmus said his family was quite hysterical about the incident when he recounted the bizarre tale.
"My mom, especially, was excited and hysterical about the story. My dad was also quite amused. They couldn't believe that a snake was under my chair," he said.
