United flight to Spain turns back after mid-flight security concern
Boeing 767 with 190 passengers landed at Newark after Bluetooth device incident; replacement flight took off Sunday.
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A United Airlines flight bound for Palma de Mallorca, Spain, turned around mid-flight Saturday due to a possible security threat and landed back at Newark at 9:37 p.m.
The flight departed at 6 p.m. with 190 passengers and 12 crew members on a Boeing 767. According to air traffic control audio, security came to inspect the aircraft after someone named their Bluetooth device a certain four-letter word. Crew members repeatedly asked passengers to turn off all Bluetooth devices, but two remained on, prompting the airline's headquarters in Chicago to authorize a return.
Passengers evacuated as Port Authority police swept the aircraft. They were rescreened by TSA and Customs and Border Patrol before reboarding a replacement flight with a new crew, which took off early Sunday morning and landed in Palma in the afternoon. The airline declined to provide specifics on the cause.
This was the latest incident with United this month — a domestic flight was diverted Friday over an unruly passenger, and earlier in May a United flight landing at Newark struck a semitrailer truck and light pole, though no one was injured.