According to reports, there was a bomb on board a United Airlines flight when a message was discovered in the bathroom.
A “threat to the aircraft” was reported by the pilot around 20 minutes prior to the aircraft’s scheduled arrival at Vermont’s Burlington International Airport (BTV).
On March 12, 2003, the Embraer 175 carrying flight 3613 was scheduled to land at 4.30 pm from Newark, New Jersey.
When the aircraft touched down, it was instructed to land in a remote location so that law authorities could determine the level of danger.
Although officials did not confirm the nature of the threat audio obtained by NBC affiliate WPTZ, which serves the Burlington area, appeared to confirm that a note was found.
“A flight attendant just came up and said that a passenger found a note […] that said there was a bomb on board,” the pilot of the flight said.
Also, a passenger told NBC5 that it felt unfair that someone left a note and ruined everyone’s day. But, the local officials handled everything flawlessly, and I never once felt unsafe.
The 65 passengers were allowed to disembark the airplane after a few hours of Burlington Airport being shuttered while officials inspected the aircraft. Around 7:30 p.m. local time, the airport reopened.
“This investigation is ongoing and at this time there is no reason to believe this is anything but an isolated incident,” said the director of aviation at Burlington International Airport, Nick Longo.
A spokesperson for Republic Airways, which operated the flight told NBC: “Out of an abundance of caution, the aircraft taxied to a remote location in Burlington and a precautionary security sweep of the aircraft was performed with no findings.
“We offer our sincere thanks to local first responders for their quick and professional response and to all aboard for their patience and understanding.”
