United Airlines Flight to Spain Turns Back Midair After Security Threat

According to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, the plane departed for Palma de Mallorca, Spain, around 6 p.m., but landed in Newark at 9:37 p.m. The airline said there were 190 passengers and 12 crew members on board the Boeing 767 aircraft.

Security came to inspect the plane after someone called the Bluetooth device a “four-letter word,” according to air traffic control audio. A passenger post on social media said crew members repeatedly asked passengers to turn off all Bluetooth devices, but two devices remained on. The flight turned back after contacting the airline’s headquarters in Chicago.

Passengers had to be evacuated as the plane was screened by Port Authority police, and they were re-inspected by TSA and Customs and Border Patrol before reboarding. The airline refused to provide detailed information about the cause of the incident.

Passengers boarded a replacement plane with new crew, which took off early Sunday morning and landed in Palma in the afternoon.

This was the latest incident on a United Airlines flight this month. On Friday, a domestic flight was diverted due to safety concerns about an unruly passenger. A United plane landing at Newark airport earlier this month crashed into a semitrailer truck and a utility pole, but no one was injured.