JOHANNESBURG: A pilot was forced to make an emergency landing after he spotted a cobra in the cockpit. Pilot Rudolph Erasmus saw the cobra lying underneath during the journey from Worcester to Nelspruit. Fortunately, Erasmus held on to his nerves and made a safe emergency landing without causing any difficulties to the passengers. The small aircraft had 4 passengers in it.

The incident took place the other day. The authorities of the Worcester airport had said that they had seen a cobra near the wing of the aircraft. 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.

Erasmus said that he initially thought that it was his water bottle when he felt a cold sensation near his hip.

"I usually travel with a water bottle that I lodge between my leg and my hip towards the side wall of the aircraft. When I felt a cold sensation near my hip, I thought my bottle was dripping. As I turned to my left and looked down, I saw the snake putting its head back underneath my seat. I was stunned for a moment. I was not sure if I should tell the passengers. But later I thought that they should know it at some point. I just said, 'listen, there's a problem. The snake is inside the aircraft. I've got a feeling it's under my seat so we are going to have to get the plane on the ground as soon as possible," he said.

As the flight was close to the airport at Welkom, Erasmus decided to make an emergency landing. He immediately contacted the control tower in Johannesburg and made the emergency landing.