A stowaway scorpion reportedly stung a woman on an Alaska
Airlines flight prior to take-off from Los Angeles headed to Portland (Oregon).
The plane was ready to take off for Portland late on
Saturday and had to return to the gate when one of the passengers, a woman,
told the crew that a scorpion had stung her in the arm.
A spokesman for Alaska Airlines, Cole Cosgrove, told CNN
that the woman was treated immediately by medical staff and declined further
treatment.
"Nobody was nervous, even the women who was stung.
Flight attendants did a great job, as did the Captain, "said passenger
Mike Parker to CNN.
According to The Oregonian newspaper, the originating flight
was from Los Cabos and, it was suggested, that's where the scorpion jumped in
the luggage of a passenger.
Alaska Airlines officials said on ESPN that a flight
attendant killed the scorpion and the plane took off to Portland soon after.
Most scorpion stings are not considered life threatening to
humans -- the exception is the sting of the bark scorpion, the most venomous in
the United States. Most of the scorpions in the U.S. are found in the
southwest, preferring the warm, dry climates found in Arizona, California and
New Mexico. Given their distribution it is equally possible that the offending
scorpion, of whichever species, was brought aboard in hand luggage in L.A.
itself. Perhaps a case of “blame Mexico”…