A United Airlines airplane at O’Hare International Airport (stock photo).Photo:Taylor Glascock/Bloomberg via Getty
Taylor Glascock/Bloomberg via Getty
Several passengers on board Flight 1533 said the security concern was a bomb threat written in one of the plane’s lavatories, but authorities did not immediately confirm the nature of the threat.
“Early this morning, FBI-Chicago and local partners responded to an incident with an aircraft at O’Hare Airport. There is no indication that there is an imminent threat to public safety or the facility itself at this time,” the FBI told PEOPLE in a separate statement.
“Someone allegedly went into the bathroom and made a bomb threat on the bathroom window and now we’ve made an emergency landing in Chicago,“passenger Rashad Robinson posted on X, formerly known as Twitter.
“On United 1533 this morning from Newark to LAX, emergency landing in Chicago after a bomb threat was found in the plane bathroom. We were told in air only that a situation forced the diversion. The threat was revealed to us when the plane was parked and police and fire trucks started closing in,“posted journalist Ian O’Connor, who was also on the flight.
“As we were getting closer to Chicago, they were really adamant that everyone stay in their seats, like they were starting to shout at passengers if they started to get up. They said, ‘we’ll have authorities waiting to arrest you when we land,“passenger Richard Fickling told ABC 7 Chicago.
An unnamed passenger told CBS 2that the passengers were deplaned while their bags were checked. The outlet reported that a bomb-sniffing K-9 found one suspicious bag and a robot was deployed to move it away. Police questioned the passenger who checked that bag.
The FBI did not immediately say what the contents of the bag were or if anyone was taken into custody.
United told PEOPLE that the same flight and plane departed for Los Angeles later Wednesday afternoon.
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source: people.com
