A man on a Vermont bound flight from Chicago was furious over the plane's security arrangement after being bitten by a scorpion twice on the plane.

David Sullivan said the scorpion bit on the back of his right leg, just below the knee, crawled up through his crotch and down his left leg, before getting him again in the shin.

Sullivan, a 46-year-old builder from Stowe, was aboard the United Airlines flight with his wife on the second leg of his trip home from San Francisco.

AP quotes Sullivan as saying, "My right leg felt like it was asleep, but that was isolated to one spot, and it felt like it was being jabbed with a sharp piece of plastic or something."

The scorpion bit Sullivan again after the plane had landed and they were waiting for their bags at the luggage carousel.

Recalling the incident Sullivan said, "It felt like a shock, a tingly thing. Someone screamed, 'It's a scorpion.'"

The plane they were on had flown from Houston to Chicago and the Sullivans believe the scorpion boarded in Texas.

"The airlines tell you can't bring water or shampoo on a plane," his wife said, referring to recent security restrictions. "All the security we go through apparently didn't apply to the scorpion," she said.

Apologizing about the incident, United spokeswoman Robin Urbanski said the incident "is something that we will investigate and look into. We're very sorry for what happened. Our customer safety and security is our No. 1 priority."

Scorpion bites are rarely fatal, most often only to babies and older people with other medical problems. Sullivan is said be in a good condition except the flu-like symptoms the next day.