United Air passenger says scorpion bit him on flight from Texas

 

FILE PHOTO: A United Airline Airbus A320 aircraft lands at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago, Illinois, U.S., April 11, 2017. REUTERS/Kamil Krzaczynski/File Photo

 

NEW YORK (Reuters) - United Airlines found itself on the defensive again on Friday after a passenger complained that a scorpion stung him during a flight from Texas, capping off a bruising week for the public image of the one of the world's largest carriers.

 

A man on board a United flight from Houston to Calgary, Alberta on Sunday, said a scorpion dropped on his head from an overhead storage bin and stung him under his fingernail, according the United and media reports.

 

"We were on the plane about an hour, having dinner, and then something fell on my head, so I grabbed it," passenger Richard Bell told CBS in a Skype interview on its website.

 

Bell said another passenger who was Mexican told him, "'Hey, that's a scorpion, they're dangerous,' ... That's when it stung."

 

United flight attendants helped the passenger after he was bitten "by what appeared to be a scorpion," airline spokeswoman Maddie King said in an email on Friday, adding that a physician on the ground assured the crew that "it was not a life-threatening matter."

 

United is "reaching out to the customer to apologize and discuss the matter," she said.

 

The airline spent the week scrambling to contain the fallout from a video that emerged on social media showing security officers dragging a bloodied passenger off an overbooked United Express flight in Chicago on Sunday as other travelers looked on in horror.

 

Dr. David Dao, a 69-year-old Vietnamese-American doctor, suffered a concussion and broken nose when dragged from the plane and will likely sue, his attorney said on Thursday.

 

His lawyers have filed an emergency request with an Illinois court to require the carrier to preserve video recordings and other evidence related to the incident.

 

After the incident triggered international outrage, United Chief Executive Oscar Munoz apologized to Dao, his family and its customers, saying the carrier would no longer use law enforcement officers to remove passengers from overbooked flights.

 

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2017-04-15

They should send the scorpion home on leave.

Next time United ejects an Asian, they better remember to toss out his lunch box too. 

... this story is quite odd... something that big on the plane, must have been in a passengers bag... odd

 

United issued a statement saying that the scorpion was re-accommodated. They also offered apologies to everyone involved, including the scorpion. As of press time United shares were unaffected.

3 minutes ago, klauskunkel said:

United issued a statement saying that the scorpion was re-accommodated. They also offered apologies to everyone involved, including the scorpion. As of press time United shares were unaffected.

...airport medical unit, report the scorpion, received and abrasive on the left tentacle and has been treated.  Deep background on the Scopion's prior environmental relocation, intra - spider reproduction aggression and stinger registration not current.  

The US authorities have since announced that passengers will be made to place all scorpions in their check-in luggage.  No hand carried scorpions will be allowed on any more flights.  The anti-discrimination-towards -arachnids league have condemned the measure as speciest and unrealistic, pointing out that a large number of scorpions were actually employed as cabin staff by the airline in question.  

OK now, outsourcing the assaults on passengers--that's going too far! And we can see through it all!

You've heard of Snakes on a Plane. 

Sue them for a 100 million dollars.. what are you wafting for? everybody

else dose....

2 hours ago, Rhys said:

... this story is quite odd... something that big on the plane, must have been in a passengers bag... odd

 

Not all scorpions are like the big black ones you see in the movies, those are actually quite harmless.

 

There are some very small almost transparent ones that are fast and can carry a nasty sting.

 

Dear United get out your financial fly swatter they are coming in waves now. This is number 3. They all want to take a bite out of your bank book. They smell blood fur sure. 

6 hours ago, rooster59 said:

said a scorpion dropped on his head from an overhead storage bin and stung him under his fingernail, according the United and media reports.

Kind of an odd place to get bit. So little space there. 

4 hours ago, ballpoint said:

The US authorities have since announced that passengers will be made to place all scorpions in their check-in luggage.  No hand carried scorpions will be allowed on any more flights.  The anti-discrimination-towards -arachnids league have condemned the measure as speciest and unrealistic, pointing out that a large number of scorpions were actually employed as cabin staff by the airline in question.  

Love it!

United stated the scorpion would be dragged off 

the plane as soon as they landed!!

6 hours ago, Rhys said:

... this story is quite odd... something that big on the plane, must have been in a passengers bag... odd

 

'Didn't see where the article mentioned any specifics about the scorpion, but they can be quite small.  Not sure what's most common in Texas, but they're not all the big black giant things you see in the movies.

12 minutes ago, hawker9000 said:

'Didn't see where the article mentioned any specifics about the scorpion, but they can be quite small.  Not sure what's most common in Texas, but they're not all the big black giant things you see in the movies.

Two to three inches long is typical.  Pretty rare but not unheard of around Houston.  More common toward Austin and San Antonio and out toward the desert areas near El Paso.  I read earlier that the plane had come from Costa Rica before Houston.  Easily hidden in a small bag or even hitching a ride on anything that may have been sitting on the ground. I've only seen them a few times and never been stung.

1 hour ago, tuktuktuk said:

Two to three inches long is typical.  Pretty rare but not unheard of around Houston.  More common toward Austin and San Antonio and out toward the desert areas near El Paso.  I read earlier that the plane had come from Costa Rica before Houston.  Easily hidden in a small bag or even hitching a ride on anything that may have been sitting on the ground. I've only seen them a few times and never been stung.

Scorpions are quite prevalent in the Dallas, Fort Worth area also.

With global warming more and more scorpions will be moving north, probably.

Although some remarks are made tongue-in-cheek, they are still illegal and probably not left on the forum.   One post has, therefore, been removed.  

Look at the bright side; if he had died on the plane he would have benefited from United's free carry-off policy.

Another reason for needing a big big wall on the border.

 

 

On 2017/4/14 at 5:30 PM, Sphere said:

Next time United ejects an Asian, they better remember to toss out his lunch box too. 

Lots of people here don't get what you mean "toss out his lunch box too". I am trying hard to control myself from using the four letters word when I read something I don't understand, the rules here prohibit me using those words. You better explain or get the .... out.

3 hours ago, madusa said:

Lots of people here don't get what you mean "toss out his lunch box too". I am trying hard to control myself from using the four letters word when I read something I don't understand, the rules here prohibit me using those words. You better explain or get the .... out.

I think you underestimate "lots of people".....they're much smarter than you. 

23 hours ago, Sphere said:

I think you underestimate "lots of people".....they're much smarter than you. 

Ok you win. I am supposed to follow Jainism so I shouldn't let anything bother me. Keep my thoughts free from just about everything, tension, criticism, condemnation, comparison and the desire to win. I want to free my mind just before I die so I don't carry forward any rubbish. It will take a long time to do that but I will try. Free and clean mind before I leave this world.

2 hours ago, madusa said:

Ok you win. 

 

I wasn't playing. 

15 hours ago, Sphere said:

 

I wasn't playing. 

Playing what may I ask? This playing sounds like masturbation to me.

4 hours ago, Arjen said:

Scorpions don't bite, they sting

https://www.poemhunter.com/poem/the-purist/

1 hour ago, madusa said:

Playing what may I ask? This playing sounds like masturbation to me.

 

Did I disappoint you?