Arachnids on a plane: Woman stung by scorpion on flight

A Portland-bound Alaska Airlines flight out of Los Angeles was delayed Saturday night after a passenger was stung on the hand by a scorpion and crew members had to search the plane for other unwanted arachnids.

Alaska Airlines spokesman Cole Cosgrove said Flight 567 was preparing to depart when the incident occurred.

The female passenger was checked out by medics at the gate and declined further medical attention -- but did not take the flight, Cosgrove said.

The scorpion was killed by the crew, which then searched the plane before takeoff, Cosgrove said. The flight was delayed less than an hour.

It was not clear how the scorpion got on the plane, which had arrived in Los Angeles from Los Cabos, Mexico, he said.

The Oregon State University men's and the University of Portland's women's basketball teams were aboard the flight. As expected, the incident did not go unnoticed on Twitter. SportsCenter anchor Sara Walsh tweeted: "thought I had plane problems today until I read this- Oregon state's plane delayed bc a woman on it bit by scorpion."

A glum Oregon State Hoops twitter account tweeted this: "Tough week for Beavs just got tougher. A scorpion just bit woman two rows in front of @waynetinkle. Plane had to go back to LAX. True story."

But the team and its Twitter account apparently cheered up later. After arriving in Portland, Oregon State Hoops tweeted: "Just landed safely at PDX. Hope the woman who was stung by the scorpion is okay. Great to be back in the Beaver State. #gobeavs"

All scorpions possess venom, thought not all are damaging to humans. Some scorpions carry a valuable venom being tested for treatment of cancer and other diseases. A scorpion can carry a valuable sting -- a gallon of venom from some species can be worth millions of dollars.

Contributing: Associated Press