United flight 236 from Newark to Palma de Mallorca on Saturday night was forced to turn around just an hour after takeoff, all because of a Bluetooth speaker with a questionable sense of humor. Multiple Redditors who claimed to be on the flight reported that the crew repeatedly asked passengers to turn off their Bluetooth, with one poster noting a one-minute warning that two devices were still active.
Flight attendants were apparently less than amused, with one Redditor reporting comments like, “This little joke is ruining it for everyone.” An archived recording from Air Traffic Control confirms the root cause: someone had named their discoverable Bluetooth speaker a certain four-letter word - speculation points to “bomb,” which would certainly explain why security had to inspect the whole aircraft, including the cargo area, and evacuate all passengers.
It’s a friendly reminder that what you think is a clever WiFi or Bluetooth name probably isn’t, especially when it triggers a security incident that ruins a flight for everyone else.