A plane forced to turn back due to a passenger who called their Bluetooth speaker “bomb.”

The UA 236 flight from United Airlines to Palma de Mallorca had to turn back on Saturday, May 30, 2026, after a Bluetooth device on board was detected under the name “Bomb” – presumably “BOMB” in English according to passenger testimonies. The plane, a Boeing 767 carrying 190 passengers and 12 crew members, had taken off from Newark Airport at 6:00 PM local time. It landed back in Newark at 9:37 PM after activating the emergency transponder code 7700, signaling a situation requiring priority attention.

According to passengers quoted by RTBF, the crew initially announced over the intercom that all passengers needed to turn off their Bluetooth immediately, otherwise, the plane would return to Newark. The suspicious device remained active, which led the captain to initiate the turnaround. United Airlines, contacted by NPR, confirmed that the flight returned to Newark “to address a potential security issue.” A significant security deployment was made at the airport. No suspicious device was discovered on board. The flight was able to depart again a bit later for its destination.

The identity of the person responsible for the name of the device has not been made public by American authorities at the time of publication. United Airlines did not clarify whether any legal action would be taken.

Third Similar Incident in 2026

This incident is part of a series of three similar cases since the beginning of the year. In January 2026, a Turkish Airlines Airbus A321 flying from Istanbul to Barcelona was inspected after a passenger named their Wi-Fi hotspot with a reference to a bomb – Turkish Airlines indicated that legal action would be taken. On May 10, 2026, a KLM flight between Málaga and Amsterdam experienced several hours of delay for a similar reason.

Current security procedures require crews to treat this type of detection as a real threat until proven otherwise. Deliberately naming a Bluetooth device or a Wi-Fi hotspot with a term associated with a threat can constitute a criminal offense in most jurisdictions, regardless of the stated intent of its author.