By: Richard L. Smith
A United Airlines flight departing Newark Liberty International Airport and headed to Palma de Mallorca, Spain, was forced to turn around Saturday night after a passenger allegedly named a Bluetooth device “bomb,” triggering a major security response.
According to airline officials and reports, Flight 236 departed Newark shortly after 6 p.m. but returned to the airport several hours later after crew members became aware of a suspicious Bluetooth signal being detected onboard.
Passengers reported that flight attendants repeatedly instructed travelers to turn off Bluetooth-enabled devices after the concerning device name appeared.
When the issue could not immediately be resolved, the aircraft turned around and safely returned to Newark as a precaution.
Once back on the ground, Port Authority Police, TSA agents, and other federal authorities conducted a full security sweep of the aircraft.
Officials later determined the device belonged to a 16-year-old passenger and that there was no actual threat aboard the flight.
All passengers were evacuated and re-screened before eventually boarding a replacement flight to Spain. No injuries were reported.
Federal authorities are reportedly reviewing the incident, which caused significant delays and disrupted travel plans for nearly 200 passengers and crew members.