A video interview the pilot who landed after a 100km (55nm) flight over West Virginia holding the neck of an aggressive snake has been aired by US television news channel ABC.
Monty Coles took off from Charleston, West Virginia in a Piper Cherokee early last week bound for Gallipolis, Ohio, a distance of around 55nm (100km). On approach, at an altitude of around 3,000ft (900m) a black rat snake appeared behind the instrument panel.
Coles tried to dislodge the 1.4m-long (4ft 6in) snake by hitting it with a handheld radio, but instead the reptile became agitated and fell to beneath Coles's feet before slithering over to the vacant co-pilot's position. Coles then grabbed the snake's neck while retaining control over the Cherokee. The snake became aggressive and coiled itself tightly around his arm and even started to pull a floor-mounted lever, the 62-year old says in the ABC news story.
Coles radioed the tower to request an emergency landing clearance, informing the controllers that he was manoeuvring the joystick with only one hand, the other holding the snake's head. Clearance was given and Coles piloted the aircraft safely to the ground, where he released the reptile into the woods after posing for photographs (see below).
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The news comes weeks before the release of the New Line Cinema action film Snakes on a Plane, in which actor Samuel L Jackson battles to control an airliner in which a cargo of highly venomous snakes escapes from the hold.
Ohio's department for natural resources says when first encountered, most black rat snakes freeze in position, blending in with their surroundings. They remain motionless until grasped. Although some offer little or no resistance when first captured, many will vibrate their tail rapidly and strike repeatedly before calming down.
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Watch the ABC interview with Monty Coles, the pilot who survived the real-life Snakes on a Plane experience after a he wrestled a black snake in his cockpit mid-flight.
Source: Flight International
