A United Airlines jet, en route to Spain, made an unscheduled return to Newark Liberty International Airport on Saturday night, prompted by a potential security issue.
The aircraft took off at approximately 6 p.m. destined for Palma de Mallorca, Spain. However, it was back on the ground at Newark by 9:37 p.m., as confirmed by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. The Boeing 767 carried 190 passengers along with 12 crew members.
Audio from air traffic control revealed that a security inspection was triggered after a Bluetooth device was provocatively named with a “certain four-letter word.”
The audio from LiveATC.net captured the tower saying, “They have to inspect the whole aircraft, including the cargo area.”
According to a social media post by a passenger, the crew made multiple announcements instructing everyone to switch off Bluetooth devices, but two devices remained active. This led to the decision to turn the flight back after consulting United’s headquarters in Chicago.
A social media user shared a video showing passengers being guided off the plane by crew and officers, who then directed them onto a bus stationed on the tarmac.
Passengers had to evacuate as the aircraft was swept by Port Authority police, and passengers were re-screened by TSA and Customs and Border Patrol before re-boarding. The airline declined to provide specifics on the cause of the incident.
Passengers boarded a replacement flight with a new crew, which took off early Sunday morning and landed in Palma in the afternoon.
In a statement, the FAA said United Airlines Flight 236 returned to Newark Liberty International Airport on Saturday “after the crew reported a passenger disturbance.” According to the FAA, airlines have reported more than 640 unruly passenger incidents so far in 2026.
This was the latest incident with a United Airlines flight this month. On Friday, a domestic flight was diverted because of a security concern with an unruly passenger. Earlier this month, a United flight landing at Newark airport struck a semitrailer truck and a light pole, though no one was injured. The Boeing 767 was traveling at 160 mph at the time of the collision.
