Captain, there's an incy wincy problem - spider on a plane causes chaos at Edinburgh Airport

Published on Tuesday 20 October 2009 22:07

IT WOULD have been an arachnophobe's worst nightmare. A passenger on an Edinburgh-bound flight yesterday told the aircrew he had seen a tarantula spider crawling between his legs.

The alert aboard a British Airways service from Heathrow led to the aircraft being grounded while a specialist was flown in to fumigate the cabin.

However, the mystery remained unresolved last night after no sign of the spider was found.

BA said the male passenger, whom it declined to name, raised the alarm shortly before the Airbus A319 reached the terminal at Edinburgh airport.

None of the other 82 passengers reported seeing anything – at least three of whom, statistically, are likely to have been scared of spiders.

Tarantulas have hairy legs and bodies and grow up to 1ft long, but move more slowly than common house spiders.

A specialist firm was flown in from Gatwick to fumigate the plane.

An insecticide was sprayed inside the aircraft to kill any insect possibly still on board, while engineers checked other areas of the aircraft, but to no avail.

BA said the Airbus was flown back to Heathrow last night without passengers, but was due to resume normal service today.

The airline said the passenger, who had been seated in the middle of the plane, had been credible and it been forced to act.

However, it said there had been no corroborative proof there had been a spider in the plane.

A spokesman said: "A male passenger claimed he had seen what he believed to be a tarantula on board the aircraft. He saw it walking between his legs.

"On arrival, he drew this to the attention of the cabin crew. He did not give the impression of being particularly upset.

"A specialist team was sent to fumigate the aircraft."

Those on board included a handful of passengers who had transferred from other flights into Heathrow – a possible source of the spider.

However, experts said tarantulas were not habitual stowaways.

Matt Shardlow, chief executive of Buglife, the Invertebrate Conservation Trust, said while house spiders would be happy living in clothes in a suitcase, tarantulas preferred burrows.

He said: "Fear of spiders is the commonest phobia in the UK and people react wildly to it, particularly in scary circumstances such as on a plane.

"But if it was a tarantula, why did no-one else see it? Although they are quite large spiders, there are some very large house spiders, too."

BA said insects were found in planes "from time to time", especially those arriving from warmer climes. BA's A319s do not operate outside Europe.

The spokesman said: "There is the odd spider that comes in cargo such as fruit, but it is very unusual to have such a report on a UK flight."

The incident forced the cancellation of the fully booked 9:05am Edinburgh-Heathrow flight, whose passengers were transferred to later services or flights to Gatwick or London City airports.

Tarantulas can give a painful bite but their mild venom is weaker than that of a typical bee and is not usually fatal.