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SHONISANI TSHIKALANGE
The South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA) has heaped praises on pilot Rudolf Erasmus who successfully made an emergency landing after a Cape cobra slithered onto him in midair on Monday.
“SACAA would like to congratulate pilot Rudolf Erasmus for displaying impeccable bravery after landing his aircraft incident-free, albeit under extreme pressure when he discovered a large Cape cobra snake on board,” it said.
TimesLIVE reported that Erasmus, ferrying four passengers was scheduled to fly on Monday morning from Worcester in the Western Cape to Nelspruit, with few stops on the way.
Erasmus said they were on their second leg of the flight, having earlier stopped for snacks, and were headed to Wonderboom in Pretoria.
Around Welkom in the Free State, he felt something strange on his body.
“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 this cold sensation where my love handles are, I thought my bottle was dripping,” Erasmus said.
“As I turned to my left and looked down, I saw the cobra putting its head back underneath my seat.
“I had a moment of stunned silence, not sure if I should tell the passengers because I didn’t want to cause a panic. But obviously, they needed to know at some point what was going on.”
Erasmus, who obtained his commercial licence in 2016, told TimesLIVE it was definitely his first such experience.
SACAA director of civil aviation Poppy Khoza congratulated Erasmus for the courageous steps he took and for how he handled “what could have been a major aviation incident”.
“He remained 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, displaying to the world that he is an aviation safety ambassador of the highest order,” said Khoza.
According to SACAA, in the 2021/22 financial year, a 25% decrease in general aviation fatal accidents and a 26% decrease in aircraft fatalities were reported.
TimesLIVE
