As if United Airlines didn’t have enough on its plate, last week, on the same day security personnel violently dragged a doctor off an overbooked flight out of Chicago, another passenger had a terrible experience.
It happened on a flight from Houston, Texas, to Calgary in Canada, when a scorpion fell on Richard Bell’s head from an overhead compartment. Mr Bell picked it up and put it on a tray. For reasons unknown, he picked it up again when a passenger told him it was dangerous and was promptly stung. Luckily, Mr Bell didn’t need medical treatment.
Needless to say, there’s been a tremendous amount of anger about the original United incident that is unlikely to calm down any time soon. That said, this time it was not the airline’s fault. We have seen many creatures make surprise visits on other airlines, from snakes on Aeromexico to rats on Air India. Naturally, United staff did see fit to forcibly remove the stowaway scorpion – this time via the on-board toilet.
