South African pilot Rudolph Erasmus successfully crash-lands a passenger plane after finding a cobra under his seat.
Erasmus was flying from Cape Town to Nelspruit at 11,000 feet when he felt a “cold touch” on his body. Looking down under the seat, the pilot discovered a Cape cobra, whose venom can kill a person in half an hour.
Erasmus radioed about the emergency on board, after which he was allowed to make an emergency landing at the nearest airport. All passengers safely left the plane, no one was hurt. South African Civil Aviation Commissioner Poppy Khoza thanked Erasmus for “superb flying skills that saved the lives of passengers.”