NBC

Man Says Stowaway Scorpion Stung Him on United Flight

The incident took place the same day as a man was dragged from a full United flight in Chicago

A small scorpion fell from a United airplane's overhead bin onto a man's head on Sunday, then stung him, he told a Canadian news agency.

Richard Bell said the close encounter, which didn't leave him hurt, took place on Flight 1418 Sunday from Houston to Calgary, Canada, as he and his wife were returning home from a vacation in Mexico, according to his interview in the Global News on Tuesday.

"The Mexican guy next to me said, 'That's a scorpion, it's dangerous.' So I dropped it on my plate, and then I went to go pick it up again and that's when it stung me. It felt like a wasp sting," Bell told the Global News.

United "flight attendants helped a customer who was stung by what appeared to be a scorpion," a representative confirmed in a statement to NBC.

The crew consulted with a physician on the ground, who said it was not a life-threatening matter, and medical personnel met the plane when it arrived at the gate, the representative said.

It wasn't clear what the creature was doing on the flight. Bell said another passenger stomped on it after it stung him, and it was quickly thrown out, so it's not clear if the creature was actually a scorpion.

Emergency medical crews who treated Bell said he showed "no signs of distress" and declined treatment, according to the a Calgary EMS representative who spoke to the Global News.

The incident took place the same day as a man was dragged from a full United flight in Chicago in an incident caught on video, generating a firestorm of negative press for the airline.

Contact Us