A flight from Baltimore to Atlanta was grounded overnight after baggage handlers found an escaped tarantula in the cargo hold before the plane took off Wednesday. At 6 p.m., crew started to unload passenger cargo and “noticed a tarantula was on the loose”.
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Airport officials announced that a flight from Baltimore got delayed due to escaped tarantulas.
A flight was delayed almost three hours after a baboon tarantula was discovered outside of its carrier container. The discovery led the captain to ground the MD-88 jet to give Delta Airlines workers time to search if there are any other insects inside the jet.
“(The captain) wanted to assure them there were no insects or spiders in the cabin. “The safety and security of our passengers is our top priority”.
The handler reportedly followed all policies and procedures for the trip. They are all the more risky since their hairs are invisible and there is nothing that passengers can do to avoid them.
The baboon tarantula is only mildly harmful to humans.
The baboon tarantula is endemic to Africa and sports a burnt orange color and fangs.
Majority have venom, but it isn’t often deadly. Nevertheless, the plane stayed at BWI, where it was searched and determined to be all-clear.
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According to the Smithsonian’s National Zoo, spiders are not only venomous, their hair can also be very irritating to a person’s skin.
