200 passengers on United Airlines flight UA236 endured deplaning, rescreening, and lengthy delays thanks to a foolish 16-year-old’s device name.
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After the member of the air crew was alerted to the 'BMB' device on board, FAA security protocols were enacted, with the pilots squawking the 7700 emergency transponder code to air traffic control. This happened approximately two hours after departure, with the plane at roughly 32,000 feet, over the Atlantic at a longitude coinciding with Nova Scotia. The plane with 200 passengers onboard was turned around to return to Newark airport.
Law enforcement investigators would find that the Bluetooth ‘BOMB’ was merely a portable speaker that belonged to a 16-year-old on the flight. No doubt renamed by the owner after purchase, it hasn’t been determined whether this was a deliberate act to disrupt fellow passengers on the flight.
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Passengers on UA236 were very unfortunate with their booking. Their flight had already been delayed two hours on the Newark tarmac due to technical issues ahead of takeoff. As the 7700 code was squawked, the passengers weren’t initially informed about the U-turn. Once back on the Newark tarmac, everyone had to deplane, were ferried around on a bus for about an hour, then had to go back through TSA screening with all luggage before reboarding. No actual bombs or explosives of any kind were found. The whole process meant the weary passengers were more than 10 hours late to begin their Mallorca plans, with the inevitable missed connections and disrupted hotel and transport bookings.
If you plan any air travel with your children, then it may be a good idea to check all their Bluetooth device names as part of your preparations.
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Reference reading
- https://www.tomshardware.com/speakers/SPONSORED_LINK_URL
- https://www.tomshardware.com/speakers/teens-bluetooth-speaker-named-bomb-caused-a-10-hour-delay-on-flight-from-newark-to-spain-passenger-reported-concerns-to-flight-attendant-at-32-000-feet-forcing-plane-back-to-the-us#main
- https://www.tomshardware.com
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