Flight forced to U-turn midway to Spain after Bluetooth bomb scare

Flight forced to U-turn midway to Spain after Bluetooth bomb scare A United Airlines from to Mallorca, Spain, was forced to make a diversion due to a security alert A United Airlines flight bound for Spain was forced to make an emergency U-turn after a mischievous teenager labelled a Fitbit device 'bomb' and triggered a full-scale security incident. The 16-year-old's fitness tracker was flagged by security around an hour and a half into a transatlantic flight from New Jersey to Mallorca, causing panic and confusion amongst those on-board. Following the discovery, an urgent announcement was issued over the in-flight PA system urging all passengers to turn their Bluetooth devices off immediately. Passengers said the crew issued a number of increasingly tense announcements pleading for the devices to be turned off, claiming the order had come direct from United's corporate headquarters in Chicago. If the devices were were not disabled, they would be forced to turn the plane around, they added. “They repeated the instruction multiple times, eventually giving a final ‘one-minute warning,'” a passenger told aviation outlet AirLive. “They said an individual has done something with Bluetooth that is threatening to the safety of the flight.” Despite multiple warnings, two devices remained active, one of which was a Fitbit device that a 16-year-old passenger had named 'bomb' and refused to turn off as part of a malicious joke. The prank meant that the pilot was instead forced to make a mid-air U-turn and divert the flight back to New York, where it was met by a massive law enforcement presence, including airport police and federal agents. Upon landing, passengers were deplaned and forced onto buses with nothing but their passports and phones, and were forced to wait on the tarmac while an extensive search took place. To ensure the offending device hadn't been discarded or passed off, all passengers were then forced to go through an additional security sweep before being allowed back on the flight. Although United Airlines is yet to release an official statement on the incident, which took place at at 5:58 PM on Saturday, May 30, passengers were quick to voice their frustration at the teenage prankster, who appears to have avoided charges. “This little joke ruined it for everyone,” an irate passenger said.