A United Airlines flight bound for Spain from Newark Liberty International Airport turned back mid-flight on Saturday evening due to a possible security threat. The Boeing 767, carrying 190 passengers and 12 crew members, departed at around 6pm for Palma de Mallorca but landed back at Newark at 9.37pm.
According to air traffic control audio, security inspected the aircraft after a passenger reportedly named their Bluetooth device using a certain four-letter word. Crew members repeatedly asked passengers to turn off all Bluetooth devices, but two remained on. The flight turned back after communication with the airline's headquarters in Chicago.
Upon landing, passengers evacuated while Port Authority police swept the aircraft. Transportation Security Administration and Customs and Border Protection officers re-screened passengers before they boarded a replacement flight with a new crew, which departed early on Sunday morning and landed in Palma that afternoon.
The airline declined to provide specifics on the cause of the incident. This was at least the third major aviation episode involving a United Airlines flight in four weeks, following an incident on 3 May when a flight landing at Newark struck a light pole and a delivery truck, causing minor injuries to the truck driver.
