United flight turns around over Atlantic after Bluetooth device named BOMB
A United Airlines flight from Newark to Spain turned around over the North Atlantic after a Bluetooth device on board was reportedly named “BOMB,” forcing the plane to return to New Jersey.
United Airlines Flight 236 departed Newark Liberty International Airport at 6:08 p.m. on Saturday for Palma de Mallorca, according to Flightradar24. The Boeing 767-424 was about two hours into the flight when it declared an emergency east of Nova Scotia and south of Newfoundland, Canada, and began returning to Newark.
A passenger on board said flight attendants repeatedly told everyone to turn off Bluetooth, warning that the plane would return to Newark if active devices remained on. The passenger said the crew described the instruction as an order from United’s headquarters in Chicago.
“They most recently said there are still two active bluetooth devices and they are in communication with Chicago to understand next steps,” the passenger wrote in a Reddit post while the flight was still in the air.
After the flight turned back, the passenger said the crew announced that a Bluetooth device had raised a safety concern, but gave few details.
Another person who said his wife was on the plane wrote that a passenger had a speaker named “bomb” and later admitted it. He said the passenger was 16 years old.
A separate passenger said the flight had originally been scheduled for 4 p.m. but was delayed until about 6 p.m. because of a “broken panel.” About an hour after takeoff, the crew began telling passengers to turn off Bluetooth or the plane would turn around.
The aircraft landed back at Newark, where passengers were taken off the plane with only their phones and passports before being placed on buses, according to the passenger account. The passenger said they were driven around for about an hour before returning to the gate.
United Airlines told ABC News that 190 passengers and 12 crew members were on board. According to air traffic control audio cited by the outlet, security inspected the aircraft after someone named a Bluetooth device a “certain four-letter word.”
Passengers were evacuated while Port Authority police swept the aircraft, ABC News reported. They were later rescreened by TSA and Customs and Border Protection before boarding a replacement flight with a new crew.
The replacement flight departed early Sunday and landed in Palma de Mallorca later in the day.
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Ella Rae Greene, Editor In Chief
