By . Mark Duell . Last updated at 5:34 AM on 1st July 2011 . Flight attack: Jeff Ellis, of West Linn, Oregon, was stung by a scorpion while on a commercial flight from Seattle, Washington, to Anchorage, Alaska . You would expect the worst thing stopping you getting a bit of sleep on a red-eye flight might be a screaming child or an air hostess. But Jeff Ellis, of West Linn, Oregon, was stung by a scorpion while on a commercial flight from Seattle, Washington, to Anchorage, Alaska. He was trying to sleep on the 1,400-mile overnight Alaska Airlines flight when he felt something in his sleeve and tried to brush it away. He then felt the crawling again, looked . down and saw the culprit. ‘I picked my hand up and said: “Oh, my God. That's a scorpion”,’ he told KPTV. Mr Ellis said he grabbed the scorpion with a napkin and showed it to his girlfriend, but not before it stung him on the elbow. ‘At first I didn't believe him,’ said his girlfriend Suzanne Foster. ‘But then I saw it. He held the napkin up for me to see, and I saw the tail wiggling. I pretty much jumped out of my seat.’ She called for the flight attendant because Mr Ellis noticed his elbow burning and said it felt like a bee sting. Culprit: Mr Ellis said he grabbed the scorpion with a napkin and showed it to his girlfriend, but not before it stung him on the elbow . Scorpion sting: Two doctors on board checked him out, while the flight crew called for medical staff to meet the plane at the Anchorage airport in Alaska . Two doctors on board checked him out, while the flight crew called for medical staff to meet the plane at the Anchorage airport. ‘At first I didn't believe him. But then I saw it. He held the napkin up for me to see, and I saw the tail wiggling. I pretty much jumped out of my seat’ Suzanne Foster, girlfriend . The flight originated from Austin, Texas, where Alaska Airlines officials believe the scorpion got on board. An Alaska Airlines spokesman said the airline has never had a poisonous creature on one of its flights before. Based on photos he took of the arachnid, Mr Ellis believes he was stung by a striped bark scorpion common in Texas. Whopper: Mr Ellis holds a photograph of the scorpion up to reporters . Shocked: Mr Ellis's girlfriend Suzanne Foster said she 'saw the tail wiggling' as he held the scorpion up and 'pretty much jumped' out of her seat on the plane . Oregon reptile expert Marshall Brooks said bark scorpions are more venomous than emperor scorpions, which are commonly kept as pets. He said most people will experience minor pain from a bark scorpion sting unless they are allergic, in which case it might cause anaphylactic shock. ‘He got stung because he threatened it,’ Mr Brooks said. First incident: An Alaska Airlines spokesman said the airline has never had a poisonous creature on one of its flights before . ‘Had he used something else to get it off with or just calmly tried to move it onto something else, it probably wouldn't have stung him.’ ‘Had he used something else to get it . off with or just calmly tried to move it onto something else, it . probably wouldn't have stung him' Marshall Brooks, reptile expert . Mr Ellis said he is pleased with how the airline handled the situation and he has been offered 4,000 frequent-flier miles and two round-trip tickets. ‘Never in a million years, would I have thought a scorpion would have been on an Alaska Airlines flight headed to Alaska,’ he said. ‘Everybody I've talked to thinks it was incredible, unbelievable. I'm here to tell you, it was definitely there.’
Jeff Ellis was travelling from Washington to Alaska .
Airline believes creature hitched a ride from Texas .
Experts believe striped bark scorpion felt threatened .
Girlfriend said she 'pretty much jumped out of her seat’
By . Mark Duell . Last updated at 5:34 AM on 1st July 2011 . Flight attack: Jeff Ellis, of West Linn, Oregon, was stung by a scorpion while on a commercial flight from Seattle, Washington, to Anchorage, Alaska . You would expect the worst thing stopping you getting a bit of sleep on a red-eye flight might be a screaming child or an air hostess. But Jeff Ellis, of West Linn, Oregon, was stung by a scorpion while on a commercial flight from Seattle, Washington, to Anchorage, Alaska. He was trying to sleep on the 1,400-mile overnight Alaska Airlines flight when he felt something in his sleeve and tried to brush it away. He then felt the crawling again, looked . down and saw the culprit. ‘I picked my hand up and said: “Oh, my God. That's a scorpion”,’ he told KPTV. Mr Ellis said he grabbed the scorpion with a napkin and showed it to his girlfriend, but not before it stung him on the elbow. ‘At first I didn't believe him,’ said his girlfriend Suzanne Foster. ‘But then I saw it. He held the napkin up for me to see, and I saw the tail wiggling. I pretty much jumped out of my seat.’ She called for the flight attendant because Mr Ellis noticed his elbow burning and said it felt like a bee sting. Culprit: Mr Ellis said he grabbed the scorpion with a napkin and showed it to his girlfriend, but not before it stung him on the elbow . Scorpion sting: Two doctors on board checked him out, while the flight crew called for medical staff to meet the plane at the Anchorage airport in Alaska . Two doctors on board checked him out, while the flight crew called for medical staff to meet the plane at the Anchorage airport. ‘At first I didn't believe him. But then I saw it. He held the napkin up for me to see, and I saw the tail wiggling. I pretty much jumped out of my seat’ Suzanne Foster, girlfriend . The flight originated from Austin, Texas, where Alaska Airlines officials believe the scorpion got on board. An Alaska Airlines spokesman said the airline has never had a poisonous creature on one of its flights before. Based on photos he took of the arachnid, Mr Ellis believes he was stung by a striped bark scorpion common in Texas. Whopper: Mr Ellis holds a photograph of the scorpion up to reporters . Shocked: Mr Ellis's girlfriend Suzanne Foster said she 'saw the tail wiggling' as he held the scorpion up and 'pretty much jumped' out of her seat on the plane . Oregon reptile expert Marshall Brooks said bark scorpions are more venomous than emperor scorpions, which are commonly kept as pets. He said most people will experience minor pain from a bark scorpion sting unless they are allergic, in which case it might cause anaphylactic shock. ‘He got stung because he threatened it,’ Mr Brooks said. First incident: An Alaska Airlines spokesman said the airline has never had a poisonous creature on one of its flights before . ‘Had he used something else to get it off with or just calmly tried to move it onto something else, it probably wouldn't have stung him.’ ‘Had he used something else to get it . off with or just calmly tried to move it onto something else, it . probably wouldn't have stung him' Marshall Brooks, reptile expert . Mr Ellis said he is pleased with how the airline handled the situation and he has been offered 4,000 frequent-flier miles and two round-trip tickets. ‘Never in a million years, would I have thought a scorpion would have been on an Alaska Airlines flight headed to Alaska,’ he said. ‘Everybody I've talked to thinks it was incredible, unbelievable. I'm here to tell you, it was definitely there.’
commercial flight from Seattle, Washington, to saw the tail wiggling. I pretty much jumped out the arachnid, Mr Ellis believes he was stung by a striped bark scorpion common in Texas. Whopper: Suzanne Foster said she 'saw the tail wiggling' jumped' out of her seat on the plane . Oregon flight headed to Alaska,’ he said. ‘Everybody