Pilot gets bitten by stowaway tarantula mid-flight

An Iberia captain has suffered a nasty surprise on a recent flight after getting a bite from a stowaway spider. The A320 was mid-flight from Dusseldorf in Germany to Madrid’s Barajas Airport last Friday when the pilot was bitten. Crew members identified the spider as a tarantula, although the airline could not confirm the exact species. It is thought the spider hitched a ride earlier in the week when the plane was in Casablanca, Morocco. The captain had an allergic reaction but the airline said they have since recovered. Tarantulas may look a bit scary but their venom is not lethal to humans, with the bite often compared to a bee sting. The plane was delayed in Madrid as it was fumigated, although the creepy crawly was not found. Newspaper La Voz de Galicia said the passengers were told about the incident the next time the plane flew leaving some to “constantly check their seats, aisle and belongings ... for fear that the spider or some other specimen would resist the fumigation”.<br/>