A woman passenger aboard a late-night United Airlines flight from California to Georgia was stung on the leg by a stowaway Scorpion.
While the Samuel L. Jackson movie 'Snakes on a Plane' was all fun and games, an unknown woman told celebrity gossip website TMZ that she was stung by a scorpion while flying to Atlanta.
The incident happened late Thursday night aboard a United Airlines Boeing 737-800.
The scorpion dropped out of the passengers pants
United Airlines flight number 1554 was en route to Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) from San Francisco International Airport (SFO) when the woman said she felt a stinging sensation on her leg.
When her leg started to feel painful, the woman decided to go to the toilet and find out what was causing the discomfort. As she was pulling down her pants, a live scorpion dropped out and began to scurry about the floor.
Once alerted to what had happened, a flight attendant managed to corner the eight-legged arachnid and put it in a box. Apparently, the scorpion had stung the woman several times while being stuck inside her pants.
Upon learning that the passenger had been stung by a scorpion, the flight crew immediately consulted with a MedLink doctor who told them what to do until the plane landed after its four and a half hour flight.
Very few scorpion stings are fatal
Curiously, and unlike most would think, only 25 of the 1,500 known species of scorpions can deliver a sting that will kill you. Of these 25 scorpions, the only one native to North America that can deliver a sting toxic enough to kill a human is the bark scorpion found in Arizona.
Somewhat surprisingly the Bay Area around San Francisco has a large number of Pacific Forest scorpions that grow to be two inches in length and live for around ten years. The sting from one of these little critters is akin to a bee sting. While it will not kill you, it is unpleasant none the less.
The passenger was taken to a local Atlanta hospital
When the aircraft landed at 06:37 EST, paramedics were on hand to transport the woman to a local hospital where they would be able to treat her for the scorpion stings.
A United Airlines spokesperson when asked about the scorpion incident, said,
“After learning that one of our customers on flight 1554 from San Francisco to Atlanta was stung during flight, our crew responded immediately and consulted with a MedLink physician on the ground who provided medical guidance.”
The United spokesperson added that the passenger was taken to a local hospital for treatment and United Airlines has “been in contact with their customer to ensure her well-being.”
It will be curious to find out what type of scorpion it was and how it managed to get on board the aircraft.
My guess is that the scorpion had gotten itself into the passenger's clothes before the flight and that she had not noticed while getting dressed.
What do you think? Please let us know in the comments.