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A flight leaving LAX for Portland was delayed on Saturday night after a stowaway scorpion stung a woman on board. Ouch!The woman was stung onboard Alaska Airlines flight 567 just before 8 p.m. as the plane was preparing for takeoff. Paramedics treated the woman on the plane, but she declined further medical attention. According to KTLA, the plane was carrying both the Oregon State men's basketball and the Portland State women's basketball teams. Oregonian sportswriter Tyson Alger reports it must've been one pretty peeved scorpion!
Guy saw scorpion on his shoulder flicked it off and it landed on lady and stung her. Chivalry is dead.
— Tyson Alger (@tysonalger) February 15, 2015
"The woman was a real champ. She acted like it was a mosquito bite. They got it off her but the needle was stuck," coach Wayne Tinkle of Oregon St. told ESPN. "No one seemed frantic at all, not even the woman who was stung. The flight attendants did a great job, as did the captain," said Mike Parker, Oregon State's sports broadcaster, to CNN.
Coach Tinkle was just two rows behind the woman that was stung. Paramedics have just come aboard. pic.twitter.com/BPWQjkoxVi
— Mike Parker (@MEPOSU) February 15, 2015
It was unclear how the arachnid got onboard, but the plane's previous destination was Los Cabos, Mexico. Crewmembers killed the scorpion before the flight took off, delayed by almost an hour. The stung woman stayed behind in Los Angeles. Seems like a less cuddly and sad stowaway than one that usually makes the news.
A scary situation that could've been way worse, at least it gave coach Tinkle the opportunity for a classic dad joke:
Always loved the band "Scorpion" growing up!! It took one look at us and went the other direction. Plane from Mexico problems!
— Wayne Tinkle (@waynetinkle) February 15, 2015
Ha ha! Oh, coach.