NYT WORLD: A Cobra Appeared Mid-Flight. The Pilot’s Quick Thinking Saved Lives.
By Derrick Bryson Taylor
Section: World
Source: New York Times
Published Date: April 7, 2023 at 03:00AM
The pilot, Rudolf Erasmus, 30, laughed about the incident in an interview on Friday, but he and his four passengers, all colleagues, were not hurling any “Snakes on a Plane” jokes on Monday, when he noticed a Cape Cobra, one of South Africa’s most dangerous snakes, slithering around the cockpit.
The group was on the second leg of its journey from the Western Cape to Mbombela, in the eastern region of the country, when Mr. Erasmus, a pilot for an engineer consulting company, felt something unusual. “I felt this cold sensation that was underneath my shirt, underneath where the hip area is,” he said.
By Derrick Bryson Taylor
Section: World
Source: New York Times
Published Date: April 7, 2023 at 03:00AM
The pilot made an emergency landing after feeling a Cape Cobra slither under his shirt while flying across South Africa. “I had a moment of stunned silence,” he said.
A South African pilot is being hailed as a hero this week after he unexpectedly came face-to-face with a venomous snake 11,000 feet in the air.The pilot, Rudolf Erasmus, 30, laughed about the incident in an interview on Friday, but he and his four passengers, all colleagues, were not hurling any “Snakes on a Plane” jokes on Monday, when he noticed a Cape Cobra, one of South Africa’s most dangerous snakes, slithering around the cockpit.
The group was on the second leg of its journey from the Western Cape to Mbombela, in the eastern region of the country, when Mr. Erasmus, a pilot for an engineer consulting company, felt something unusual. “I felt this cold sensation that was underneath my shirt, underneath where the hip area is,” he said.
Read More at: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/07/world/africa/snake-plane-cobra-pilot.html
Bonus video: 747 Airliner Explodes At High Altitude | Mayday Air Disaster Compilation | Wonder
Posts
