United Airlines Flight 236 returned to Newark Liberty International Airport on Saturday after a security alert was triggered by a Bluetooth device on board that had been named “BOMB,” forcing the aircraft to abandon its transatlantic journey to Palma de Mallorca, Spain.
The Boeing 767-400ER departed Newark Liberty International Airport at 5:58 PM on Saturday, May 30, 2026. Roughly an hour and a half into the transatlantic journey, flight attendants took to the PA system with an urgent command, ordering all passengers to turn off their Bluetooth connections immediately. The crew issued multiple increasingly tense announcements, stating that the directive came straight from United‘s corporate headquarters in Chicago.
Early reports indicate that a teenage passenger on board had named their device “BOMB,” and the discoverable name escalated quickly into a bomb-threat response. The crew issued repeated warnings before giving all passengers a one-minute ultimatum to turn their Bluetooth off, or the aircraft would be forced to turn around. At least two devices were reportedly still active after the deadline passed, prompting the flight crew to declare an emergency and divert back to Newark.
The captain addressed passengers directly over the PA system. “We are going back to Newark because we have a passenger who seems to be making a joke that is not so funny and is going to compromise the safety of this flight,” he announced. He later added that federal agents would board and search for the person responsible, describing it as a very serious matter that would not be taken lightly.
The flight landed back at Newark at 9:37 PM, according to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. There were 190 passengers and 12 crew members on board the aircraft. Passengers had to evacuate as the plane was swept by Port Authority police, and all passengers were rescreened by TSA and Customs and Border Patrol before reboarding.
Passenger Jordan Moore, an Arkansas native, told reporters she had spotted the word “BOMB” on her smartphone’s Bluetooth network list. “At first, I wasn’t necessarily worried at all. I was just like, ‘It’s a Bluetooth network,'” she said. “But then, the captain came overhead and was like, ‘This is the final warning,’ and they didn’t turn it off. Every single person has every device off and it still said ‘BOMB.’ That is a little concerning.”
Passengers were deplaned with only their passports and phones, loaded onto buses, and driven around the tarmac for roughly an hour while security personnel secured the gate. All passengers were then required to clear TSA airport security a second time while the aircraft and checked luggage underwent a thorough sweep.
The replacement flight was operated by the same aircraft, a Boeing 767-400ER with registration N67052, but did not take off until around 2:30 AM the following day. The flight eventually landed in Spain several hours later than originally planned.
United Airlines has not yet released an official statement regarding potential criminal charges or a lifetime ban for the teenager involved. No injuries were reported during the incident.
