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June 22, 200

CLEVELAND (Reuters) - A scorpion hitched a ride on a Pennsylvania-bound flight from Detroit and stung a male passenger, prompting the crew to divert the plane to Cleveland, authorities said Thursday.

The unidentified passenger's right hand was swollen a few hours after Wednesday's unscheduled landing, Mesaba Airlines spokeswoman Shirley Doering said.

The scorpion was captured and killed.

The Mesaba flight was bound from Detroit to Allentown, Pennsylvania, when the man, aged between 40 and 45 and escorting his son on a college visit, felt a twinge on his right hand.

"He looked down and saw a scorpion which had stung him. Another passenger killed it," Doering said. "The passenger did not want to divert the plane but the crew decided to and there was an ambulance waiting."

The plane returned to Detroit to be fumigated, while other passengers were put aboard other flights.

"Our best guess is that (the scorpion) probably hitch-hiked a ride on someone's carry-on luggage from either the U.S. southwest, Mexico or the Caribbean," Doering said.

Scorpions in the southwest are not typically lethal, though they can be painful, said Suzanne White, medical director for Children's Hospital of Michigan, Regional Poison Control Center in Detroit.

Mesaba Airlines' parent company is Minneapolis-based Mesaba Holdings, Inc

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