People walk through Pearson International Airport's new Terminal 1 in Toronto. (CP / Aaron Harris)
Scorpion on plane causes delay at Pearson Airport
toronto.ctv.ca
Airport security officials scoured a Toronto-bound plane on Sunday after a scorpion got loose onboard and stung a man.
The critter snuck into the carry-on backpack of a passenger who was returning from a camping trip in Costa Rica, the Toronto Star reported.
Once the flight was in the air, the arachnid climbed out of the bag and up the man's leg. It then stung him on the back of the knee.
The man was treated by paramedics after the plane landed at Pearson International Airport in Toronto. Animal control workers said the scorpion was not lethal and the man is expected to recover, the Star reported.
The incident caused some nervousness among fliers and forced an hour-long delay as security personnel combed the plane for other possibly dangerous critters.
The scorpion apparently got through security in Costa Rica and was not detected when the American Airlines flight had a stopover in Miami.
The victim is believed to be in his late 20s or early 30s. The scorpion was killed during its capture, officials said.
"As a precaution, we did go in and search the aircraft just to see if we could find anything else," said American Airlines spokesman John Hotard, who added the incident was not completely unheard of.
"We've had cases where passengers have brought critters on board in their backpack and they get out and crawl around, but it's rare."
Passengers waiting in the departure lounge at Terminal 2 were told of the situation. Some made jokes about the incident.
When passengers finally boarded the plane, the captain came on and announced: "Welcome to Scorpion Flight 1011."
A black scorpion.

A man who visited Costa Rica who was on American Airlines flight 1552 from Miami, Florida to Toronto was stung by a scorpion on Sunday. The scorpion was from Costa Rica, where the man was on a camping trip with his brother.

The scorpion crawled out of the man's carry-on knapsack. Then, the scorpion stung the man, who is believed to be in his 20s or early 30s. Flight officials immediately delayed the outbound flight. The man was treated by paramedics and was taken to hospital.

Later, the scorpion was killed. Animal control officers said the scorpion was a non-lethal species.

"We delayed the outbound flight and searched the cabin of the aircraft to see if we could find any more, which we did not," said John Hotard, a company spokesman in Fort Worth, Texas. "This is rare. I'm not aware of a scorpion stinging a person on any of our flights before."

"We've had cases where passengers have brought critters on board in their backpack and they get out and crawl around, but it's rare," he added.

They arrived safely at Toronto's Pearson International Airport. The flight back to Miami was delayed by less than an hour.

When the flight resumed, the pilot said: "Welcome to Scorpion Flight 1011."

The scorpion is said to have been brought on the plane unintentionally.