Marie Claire Marie Claire
  • Celebrity
  • Fashion
  • Beauty
  • Culture
  • Power
  • Nice Talk
  • Fashion Month
  • More
    • Politics
    • Career & Money
    • Health & Fitness
    • Power Play
    • Travel
    • Promo Codes
    • Food & Cocktails
    • About Us
    • Subscribe
    • Sex & Love
  • Newsletter SIGN UP TO OUR NEWSLETTER
  • Marie Claire
    Marie Claire Newsletter

    Celebrity news, beauty, fashion advice, and fascinating features, delivered straight to your inbox!


    By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

    You are now subscribed

    Your newsletter sign-up was successful


    Want to add more newsletters?

    Marie Claire Daily

    Delivered daily

    Marie Claire Daily

    Get exclusive access to fashion and beauty trends, hot-off-the-press celebrity news, and more.

    Marie Claire Self Checkout

    Sent weekly on Saturday

    Marie Claire Self Checkout

    Exclusive access to expert shopping and styling advice from Nikki Ogunnaike, Marie Claire's editor-in-chief.

    Maire Claire Face Forward

    Once a week

    Maire Claire Face Forward

    Insider tips and recommendations for skin, hair, makeup, nails and more from Hannah Baxter, Marie Claire's beauty director.

    Livingetc

    Once a week

    Livingetc

    Your shortcut to the now and the next in contemporary home decoration, from designing a fashion-forward kitchen to decoding color schemes, and the latest interiors trends.

    Homes & Gardens

    Delivered Daily

    Homes & Gardens

    The ultimate interior design resource from the world's leading experts - discover inspiring decorating ideas, color scheming know-how, garden inspiration and shopping expertise.


    An account already exists for this email address, please log in.
    Trending
    • Lived-in Handbags
    • Eyepatch-Gate
    • Life in Plastic
    • Brown Denim
    • Taylor Swift
    1. Culture

    So, a Scorpion Fell on Someone's Head and Stung Them During a United Flight

    United: "Things can't get worse, right?" Scorpion: "Hold my beer."

    By Mehera Bonner
    Published 14 April 2017 In News

    When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

    • Facebook
    • X
    • Pinterest
    Share this article
    Join the conversation
    Follow us
    Add us as a preferred source on Google
    Subscribe to our newsletter

    Airline, Airplane, Aerospace engineering, Aviation, Vehicle, Air travel, Airliner, Aircraft, Sky, Flight,

    (Image credit: Getty Images)

    First, there was Leggings Gate. Then, there was "Holy Crap, This Bleeding Man Is Being Dragged off a Plane Against His Will Gate." And now, we give you Scorpion Gate—the latest in a string of PR nightmares for United Airlines.

    While flying from Houston to Calgary on a United flight, passenger Richard Bell was allegedly stung by a rogue scorpion who flung itself from the overhead bin and landed atop his head.

    "My husband felt something in his hair," Linda Bell tells CNN. "He grabbed it out of his hair and it fell onto his dinner table. As he was grabbing it by the tail it stung him."

    Latest Videos FromMarie Claire
    Watch full video here:

    Linda says her husband was able to throw the scorpion into the aisle, at which point another passenger cried "Oh my god, that's a scorpion." The critter was eventually flushed down the toilet by a flight attendant. United's thoughts on the matter?

    "Our flight attendants helped a customer who was stung by what appeared to be a scorpion on a flight last week," they said in a statement. "Our crew immediately consulted with a MedLink physician on the ground who provided guidance throughout the incident and assured our crew that it was not a life-threatening matter."

    You may like
    • Prince Harry is a man with ginger hair, and a slight smirk on his face, wearing a black suit with military medals attached to the lapel Why Prince Harry Once Apologized for "Being a Bit Silly"
    • Prince William and Princess Kate standing with flight attendants on a British Airways flight Prince William and Princess Kate's Surprising Travel Rule Revealed
    • a split image of a woman looking through her purse and a villa in a mountain in mallorca I Lost My Luggage in the Mediterranean—10 Products That Saved Me

    It's unclear how the scorpion arrived on the plane, but chalk it up to #UnitedProblems.

    We're nominated for a Webby Award—but we need your vote to win! Vote for the Women and Guns project here.

    Marie Claire Newsletter

    Celebrity news, beauty, fashion advice, and fascinating features, delivered straight to your inbox!

    By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.
    Mehera Bonner
    Social Links Navigation
    Entertainment Editor

    Mehera Bonner is a celebrity and entertainment news writer who enjoys Bravo and Antiques Roadshow with equal enthusiasm. She was previously entertainment editor at Marie Claire and has covered pop culture for over a decade.

    Read more
    blue gel background with two models wearing different color under eye patches
    Skincare Welcome to Eyepatch-Gate We investigated why the fresh sliced under-eye masks are everywhere right now.
    By Tanya Akim
    collage of yise beauty and jones road wide awake concealer with two models with glowing skin on a pink background
    Makeup The YISE Beauty and Jones Road Wide Awake Drama Is Keeping Me Up at Night Now I really need eye cream.
    By Tanya Akim
     
     
    King Charles wearing a gray suit jacket and red tie with a kilt
    Royals King Charles Admits One Part of Royal Life Can Be "Hazardous"
    By Kristin Contino
    Queen Elizabeth shaking hands with two chefs
    Royals Former Chef Reveals One Innocent Trick Staff Would Play on Queen Elizabeth
    By Kristin Contino
     
     
    Latest in Culture
    Marie Claire talks to 'The Love Hypothesis' costume designer about Lili Reinhart's looks
    Fashion 'Love Hypothesis' Costume Designer on Dressing a Scientist like a Rom-Com Lead
    A photo of Nikki Ogunnaike with an inset photo of Lily Shimbashi and text reading Money. Power. Style. Nice Talk with Nikki Ogunnaike
    Culture Lily Shimbashi Wants Influencers at Sporting Events—With One Stipulation
     
     
    A woman in a lab coat (Lili Reinhart as Olive Smith) and a man in all-black (Tom Bateman as Dr. Adam Carlsen) sit on a park bench, in a still from 'The Love Hypothesis.'
    Movies We'd Love to Trade Romance Recommendations With Lili Reinhart and Tom Bateman
    jessica barden as nance o'neil wearing 1800s era clothes and a wig performing operatic vocals on a stage in monster the lizzie borden story
    TV shows The True Story of Nance O'Neil, the Real Actress and Friend of Lizzie Borden in 'Monster'
     
     
    Latest in News
    Princess Kate sitting at a table with a little boy wearing a suit
    Royals Princess Kate Quietly Honors the Queen Mother at Surprise Tea Party
    Dakota Johnson arrived at the 'Verity' premiere in London, wearing an ivory lace naked dress and Fleur du Mal lingerie
    Celebrity Style Dakota Johnson Is Back in Her Naked Dress Era
     
     
    King Charles, Queen Camilla and members of the Royal Family on the balcony at Trooping the Colour 2026
    Royals An Unexpected Royal Couple Will Be Heading to Africa on Tour
    King Haakon, Queen Sonja and Princess Astrid, sitting in a wheelchair with her dog, viewing an exhibition
    Royals The Norwegian Royals Have Lost a Third Member of the Family
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Marie Claire
    RSS
    • About us
    • Contact Future's experts
    • Contact us
    • Advertise Online
    • Newsletter
    • Terms and conditions
    • Privacy policy
    • Cookies policy
    • Careers
    Add as a preferred source on Google Add as a preferred source on Google

    Marie Claire is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

    © Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, New York, NY 10036.