You've probably heard of the movie Snakes On A Plane.

Well, passengers aboard a Toronto-bound jet experienced a similarly frightening mid-air experience this weekend when a scorpion made it onto an American Airlines flight from Costa Rica to Toronto and ending up biting a man.

The flight made its scheduled stopover in Miami Sunday and had taken off again for Toronto when the critter made its unwanted appearance.

After hiding undetected in the man's carry-on bag, the scorpion decided to slip out during the flight, crawling up his oblivious victim's pant leg.   He wasn't oblivious for long, however.   He reached a unique level of awareness when the poisonous stinger painfully sunk into his skin and a quiet flight took on an ominous, creepy tone.

The man did manage to kill the scorpion after it bit him.   But the fear of more carnage wasn't totally assuaged.

The incident caused an hour-long delay at Pearson International Airport as officials looked to see if any others had gotten loose.

After the plane landed the traveller was treated at Etobicoke General and released.

Animal control officers identified the scorpion as a non-lethal species.

According to Zoo Keeper Doug Chessell, the man was lucky he didn't encounter a more potent version of the vilified creature. 

"Some scorpions do have a lethal injection," he said.   "A lot of it depends on the person and how they react to the venom."

All scorpions are venomous. Both those who've watched those endless nature shows might think they're also all deadly.

The truth is most of the creatures don't possess enough poison to kill a healthy adult.

The venom is mostly used in the wild, where the arachnid is trying to kill or paralyze its prey. Once it's administered, the poison is quick and effective. But only a few species of scorpions are generally known to be very dangerous to humans.

A lot depends on the type and the ability of medicine to counteract the poison.

Those who do die from the creepy crawler's sting tend to be in countries like Mexico and Africa, and are often very young, infirm, elderly or have an allergy to the poison.

But most of the creatures only bite to catch food or defend themselves and it's rare they go after something as large as a person. Most would prefer to simply run away and hide until the peril passes.

What does a bite feel like? It generally begins with immediate and intense burning at the area where the venom went in. That can last between half an hour to half a day. It often gets worse over 24 hours.

Symptoms can include:

• Abdominal cramps,
• Inflammation,
• Sensitivity to clothing, bedding and noise,
• "Pins and needles" sensations in the limbs,
• Stiff legs,
• Tremors,
• Involuntary movement,
• Increased pulse rate,
• Raised blood pressure
• Difficulty swallowing,
• Excessive salivation,
• Speech problems,
• Excessive perspiration,
• Headches,
• Nausea,
• Vomiting,
• Diarrhea,
• Restlessness and in the most serious cases,
• Respiratory distress and possible death.
  

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