Scorpion stings Alaska Airlines passenger, delaying flight
A scorpion stung a passenger on an Alaska Airlines flight to Portland, Oregon, delaying a flight that originated in Mexico, the carrier has said.
Cole Cosgrove, Airline Spokesman, said on Tuesday in Los Angele that Flight 567, which originated in Los Cabos, Mexico, was taxiing for takeoff on Saturday at Los Angeles International Airport when the woman was stung.
He said the plane returned to the gate, where medics treated the woman and offered additional medical treatment, which she declined.
Cosgrove said the woman did not get back on the plane, and passengers stayed on board.
“The woman brushed the scorpion away after the sting and killed it on the floor with her foot,’’ he said.
“The crew of the Boeing 737 checked for other scorpions and the plane departed about 50 minutes late, he added.
Cosgrove said nobody knows exactly how the scorpion made it on the plane, but the flight did originate in Los Cabos, Mexico, where scorpions are known to live.
He said the airline was reaching out to the woman on Sunday regarding possible compensation for her inconvenience and to check on her condition.
Cosgrove said a medical report indicated that only 30 of about 1,500 species of scorpions can cause potentially fatal stings.
He said the clinical report said “Scorpion stings, although painful, are mostly harmless.
