Teen’s 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

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200 passengers on United Airlines flight UA236 endured deplaning, rescreening, and lengthy delays thanks to a foolish 16-year-old’s device name.

United airlines flight
(Image credit: Getty / Gary Hershorn)

Passengers on United Airlines flight UA236 on Saturday were subjected to deplaning, TSA rescreening, and over 10 hours of delays thanks to a foolish teen’s Bluetooth speaker name. Air Traveler Club (ATC) says that a passenger on the jet between Newark and Palma de Mallorca, Spain, spotted a Bluetooth device named ‘BOMB’ and reported it to a flight attendant, sparking the emergency bomb threat protocol. Authorities are investigating whether the teen's Bluetooth speaker naming was a prank or a deliberate provocation.

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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Mark Tyson
Mark Tyson
News Editor

Mark Tyson is a news editor at Tom's Hardware. He enjoys covering the full breadth of PC tech; from business and semiconductor design to products approaching the edge of reason.

6 Comments Comment from the forums
  • mevinyavin
    Never attribute to malice what you can attribute to stupidity. I don't suppose the thought ever even entered the 16-year-old's mind.
    Reply
  • chaos215bar2
    mevinyavin said:
    Never attribute to malice what you can attribute to stupidity. I don't suppose the thought ever even entered the 16-year-old's mind.
    And why should it have?

    If someone's going to bring an actual bomb on a plane, are people really so stupid they think it will advertise itself on Bluetooth and be named "BOMB"?

    I suppose these people also think the WiFi networks named "CIA Van 12" or whatnot are an actual CIA van?

    The problem here was not the teen or the Bluetooth speaker's name. At a certain point, ignorance and paranoia at the level displayed by the passengers and flight attendants here just isn't a reasonable excuse.

    If I had been on that flight, I'd be absolutely livid. And not at the teen.
    Reply
  • roll20s
    No doubt renamed by the owner after purchase
    There are multiple BT speakers with the word "bomb" in their name. Hellottec even makes a BT speaker just called "BOMB." I wouldn't say there's "no doubt" that it was renamed by the owner.
    Reply
  • Faiakes
    What exactly was the concern here?
    That there was a bomb that advertised itself?
    Reply
  • chaos215bar2
    Faiakes said:
    What exactly was the concern here?
    That there was a bomb that advertised itself?
    It's the only explanation that makes even a little bit of sense.

    You could speculate that the flight crew thought the name was a message or even a threat. Say, someone who knew about a bomb, but couldn't say so out loud, so reprogrammed their speaker. But if that were true, then telling people to turn off Bluetooth devices just brings everyone's attention to their Bluetooth settings and in the process announces to the actual presumed bomber that you're on to their threat.

    The whole thing is just so ridiculous. There are going to be security case studies written about this.

    Good thing the speaker wasn't named after a late 90's gaming in-joke or something. Might have gotten everyone on board strip-searched on the way out.
    Reply
  • Daelith
    'Twas a smart bomb, my good sir.
    Reply