Photo: Air Transat / CBC.ca
Strange as it may sound, but scorpion sightings on board commercial planes are not as rare as we’d like them to be. The most recent one occurred – out of all places – on a Canadian flight from Toronto to Calgary.
Quin Maltais is a student and she was returning home on an Air Transat flight at the end of last month, she tells CBC. Like most fliers, she didn’t bother to check under her seat or to look too closely at the seat fold, because why should she? It’s not like she ever imagined a live scorpion would be hiding there.
One hour left in 4-hour flight, Maltais felt a “fluttering” motion in her lower back, which she believes lasted for about 30 minutes. She “just kind of ignored it,” thinking it was the air-con blowing on her back, but then, she felt the bite. This happened as the plane had started to descend for landing, so she couldn’t get off her seat or unbuckle her seatbelt to check.
“As soon as the lights turned off again, closer to when we’re literally about to land, I felt the piercing pain on my lower back, like, oh, my God, something bit me,” she tells the media outlet.
“The lights turned on, I looked into the ball of bundled sweater that I had but nothing was there. I looked behind me on the seat and then I saw movement and there was a scorpion that was in the fold toward the back of the chair,” Maltais explains. “It was on my back for the past 30 minutes … it was like four inches [about 10 cm], maybe.”
She jumped on the armrest and called for a flight attendant. When she checked for the scorpion, she found a bubble gum wrapper and told Maltais that this was what must have caused her the discomfort. After a more proper search, she found the scorpion, too.
Maltais was taken by emergency personnel and her condition was deemed non-critical. Still, she had a panic attack and says the experience was shocking enough to almost make her swear off flying. Almost. She will still travel by plane, but she will be checking her seat before sitting on it, she says.
Air Transat confirmed the incident, saying the scorpion was found after all passengers had de-planed. It was handed over to airport authorities.
One hour left in 4-hour flight, Maltais felt a “fluttering” motion in her lower back, which she believes lasted for about 30 minutes. She “just kind of ignored it,” thinking it was the air-con blowing on her back, but then, she felt the bite. This happened as the plane had started to descend for landing, so she couldn’t get off her seat or unbuckle her seatbelt to check.
“As soon as the lights turned off again, closer to when we’re literally about to land, I felt the piercing pain on my lower back, like, oh, my God, something bit me,” she tells the media outlet.
“The lights turned on, I looked into the ball of bundled sweater that I had but nothing was there. I looked behind me on the seat and then I saw movement and there was a scorpion that was in the fold toward the back of the chair,” Maltais explains. “It was on my back for the past 30 minutes … it was like four inches [about 10 cm], maybe.”
She jumped on the armrest and called for a flight attendant. When she checked for the scorpion, she found a bubble gum wrapper and told Maltais that this was what must have caused her the discomfort. After a more proper search, she found the scorpion, too.
Maltais was taken by emergency personnel and her condition was deemed non-critical. Still, she had a panic attack and says the experience was shocking enough to almost make her swear off flying. Almost. She will still travel by plane, but she will be checking her seat before sitting on it, she says.
Air Transat confirmed the incident, saying the scorpion was found after all passengers had de-planed. It was handed over to airport authorities.
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