A United Airlines flight was diverted to O’Hare Airport Wednesday morning after someone found a note in the bathroom saying there was a bomb aboard the plane, officials said.
The Boeing 787, flight No. 1533, which had departed from Newark Liberty International Airport and was headed to Los Angeles International Airport, landed after a crew member reported the issue, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. The emergency happened about 7:40 a.m.
“The police department had information about a suspicious device on an aircraft,” said Chicago Fire Department spokesperson Larry Langford. Kellie Bartoli, a spokesperson for the Chicago Police Department, said officers were sent to the scene.
A plan that sends at least six ambulances to the scene was implemented, and the plane was evacuated. Passengers were taken to O’Hare’s international terminal, Langford said.
A bomb-sniffing dog sent to search the plane found a suspicious package. After technicians tried to open it but were unsuccessful, a robot was called in, officials said.
It is unclear why the package was considered suspicious and what was inside.
No one was injured and nothing exploded, confirmed FBI spokesperson Siobhan Johnson, who said the incident remains under investigation.
“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,” said the bureau in a statement.
“The flight landed safely and met local law enforcement upon arrival,” according to a statement from United. “Customers deplaned, and we expect the flight to depart for Los Angeles later this afternoon.”
Nine crew members and 202 passengers were on board.
According to United’s website, the plane departed O’Hare at 2:37 p.m.
‘A quiet fear’
By 12:30 p.m. an exhausted Richard Fickling was still at O’Hare waiting to get back to Los Angeles.
The 31-year-old software engineer was traveling on business. He had gotten an alert saying they were to reboard at 12:23 p.m., but the plane had not yet returned to the gate.
“They’re putting us on the same plane,” said Fickling.
Somewhere above Detroit and about an hour and a half after taking off from New Jersey, Fickling glanced at his watch and saw a notification that the flight was being diverted to Chicago.
“Everyone sort of looked around,” he said, as passengers quickly got the same information. About 15 minutes later, a flight attendant made an announcement that everyone had to stay in their seats. Flight staff wouldn’t say why.
“They kept using the word ‘situation,’” Fickling said. At first, he assumed it was a glitch that caused the diversion.
“Obviously, when they started getting really assertive about staying in our seats ... it was pretty clear that something bad had happened,” he said.
Once they landed, passengers were told that someone wrote “I have a bomb” on a mirror in one of the restrooms.
Though he couldn’t see everyone on the 787, he could tell people were nervous. No one was crying or fainting, but, “it was more of a quiet fear.”
Passengers sat for about an hour as emergency crews investigated. They finally deplaned and for about another hour and a half they were on buses moving to a different gate.
They were not told that a suspicious package was found, Fickling said.
“We just sat there.”
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
