An airline traveller had a nasty surprise when he was stung by a scorpion while in his seat.
June 30, 2011- On a commercial flight from Seattle to Washington an Oregon man got a big surprise when he was stung by a scorpion while seated in his seat. West Linn resident Jeff Ellis was attempting to sleep on the Alaska Airlines flight known as a “red eye” on June 17. He said it felt as though there was something on his sleeve and he tried brushing it off. He then felt it again and looked down and saw it was a scorpion.
He grabbed the scorpion and showed his girlfriend what he had just found but not before he was stung on his elbow. His girlfriend at first did not believe him until she actually saw the culprit. When he held the napkin up for her to see she could see the tail wiggling back and forth.
As soon as he noticed his elbow had a burning sensation he called the flight attendant. He referred to the sting as that of a bee sting. There were two doctors that happened to be aboard and they both checked his condition while an ambulance was called to be waiting for them when they landed. The flight originated out of Austin, Texas and it is thought the scorpion somehow got on board there.
Ellis said the flight crew handled the situation in a professional manner and his is pleased with the help they gave him. He said he was offered two round trip tickets and 4,000 frequent flyer miles by the airline.
