A United Airlines Boeing 767 bound for Palma de Mallorca, Spain, turned around mid-flight on Saturday evening and landed back at Newark Liberty international airport after a possible security threat, according to the port authority of New York and New Jersey, which operates the airport.
The flight departed Newark at about 6 p.m. carrying 190 passengers and 12 crew, the airline said. It turned back after communicating with United’s headquarters in Chicago and landed at Newark at 9:37 p.m., the port authority said.
Air traffic control audio indicated that security came to inspect the aircraft after someone named their Bluetooth device with what the audio described as “a certain four-letter word.” A passenger posting on social media said crew members repeatedly asked passengers to turn off all Bluetooth devices, but at least two remained active. The airline declined to provide specifics on what prompted the security response.
Port authority police evacuated passengers and swept the aircraft. TSA and CBP officers then re-screened all passengers before they reboarded, according to the port authority.
United put passengers on a replacement flight with a new crew, which departed early Sunday morning and landed in Palma de Mallorca in the afternoon.
The Saturday incident came one day after a separate United Airlines flight bound for Minneapolis from Chicago was diverted to Madison, Wisconsin, on Friday because an unruly passenger tried to breach the cockpit. On May 3, a United Airlines flight landing at Newark Liberty struck a light pole and a delivery truck, leaving the truck’s driver with minor injuries, according to authorities.