Terrifying moment aeroplane passengers discover a live SCORPION crawling out of the overhead luggage compartment
- Scorpion fell out of overhead luggage onboard landed Lion Air flight to Jakarta
- Instantly caused panic among passengers trying to leave the plane
- Believed the creature had been living inside the aircraft for at least a WEEK
- The ‘aggressive and venomous’ arachnid disappeared into a gap overhead
This is the terrifying moment a live scorpion crawled out of the overhead luggage rack on a busy aeroplane and sent passengers into a panic before disappearing.
Lion Air customers caused their own turbulence by running for the exit when the poisonous arachnid’s legs were seen dangling over the side of a compartment.
The flight had landed in Jakarta, Indonesia, two hours after taking off from Sultan Syarif Kasim II International Airport in Pekanbaru, Indonesia, at 5pm on Thursday.
A woman opened her baggage shelf to find the venomous creature which scampered out – sparking panic among those onboard the Boeing 737.
It was seen crawling along the side of the plastic compartment – with its huge pincers and venomous tail – before disappearing into the plane’s fittings.
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The 12-inch long dark black arachnid resembled a poisonous Asian forest scorpion – one of the most aggressive scorpions found in Indonesia – and which sting its victims.
Onlooker Karim Taslin said: ‘When the plane had landed, one passenger was taking their things out of the compartment, that’s when suddenly the scorpion appeared above our seat.
Passengers in row 19 of the Lion Air Pekanbaru-to-Jakarta flight spotted the venomous creature’s legs dangling out above their heads
The sight of the arachnid’s venomous tail sent passengers into panic mode, rushing to get out of the aisle as the plane doors began to open
‘I was in row 19 with two other passengers, an elderly married couple. When we saw the scorpion above our heads we rushed out as fast as we could.’
Concerned cabin crew came to see what had caused the panic and began searching for the critter, which had already disappeared back inside the plane’s roof.
It’s not known how long the scorpion had been inside the plane, but it is believed to have been living deep within the aircraft for at least a week.
The creepy crawly first thought to be a spider is believed to be a poisonous Asian forest scorpion, one of the most aggressive in Indonesia
Karim added: ‘I didn’t have time to catch the scorpion. So it disappeared into the cabin baggage area. I pressed the emergency button. There was no response, so I shouted for help.
‘But at that time the atmosphere in the cabin was crowded with passengers picking up their luggage, so the crew were also slow to arrive at row 19.
‘When I think back it makes me shiver. The scorpion could have dropped on our heads and stung us.’
The scorpion quickly disappeared back inside a gap in the luggage rack although one brave passenger, Karim Taslin, said he was going to try to catch it
Lion Air said in a statement on Friday that the plane had been sprayed a week earlier to remove any creatures. They are now investigating and claimed the creature ‘looked like a spider’.
Spokesman Danang Mandala Prihantoro said: ‘From the observations according to the photograph and video, the animal resembles a spider.
‘Ground service officers and technicians immediately carried out an in-depth search and thorough handling of the aircraft after the passengers and cargo were removed, but no animals were found.’
A Lion Air spokesperson said they later searched the plane but could not find the scorpion (Stock Image)
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