The situation inside United Airlines flight 3613 on its way to Vermont became tense after a passenger found a note in the bathroom threatening a bomb attack. Officials said that this happened shortly before the plane was scheduled to land on Sunday, March 12.
According to FlightAware data, the airplane flew from Newark, New Jersey, and landed at the Burlington International Airport at 4:30 pm on Sunday.
Burlington International Airport’s director of aviation, Nic Longo, told reporters at a news conference that the flight crew alerted air traffic control about a possible threat to the airplane about 20 minutes before the plane landed.
Authorities did not reveal the threat’s nature, but they said the pilot called in about a note found in the bathroom threatening the plane.
A local news station obtained the audio of the pilot saying that a flight attendant had come up to him and said that one of the passengers had found a note saying that there was a bomb somewhere inside the plane.
Air traffic control officers immediately initiated the emergency response protocols. Once the aircraft landed, it was directed to a different location, away from the rest of the airplanes, and law enforcement officers swung into action.
On Sunday, the Vermont State Police released a statement saying their bomb squad had been called to help local authorities.
Authorities conducted a thorough search of the entire plane and luggage and could not find anything unusual or suspicious. All 65 passengers were then allowed to deplane and were debriefed about the bomb threat at around 7 pm, according to officials.
According to Longo, no one was hurt during the incident and all passengers were taken to the terminal to retrieve their belongings.
Airport authorities closed the airport during the incident and reopened hours later at around 7:30 pm.
The FAA, the FBI, Vermont State Police, and the South Burlington Police Department responded to the incident.
Authorities said the matter was still under investigation and that they were unable to disclose further details.
Republic Airways, the flight operator, thanked responders for their speedy response and thanked the passengers for their patience during the scary incident which fortunately ended well for everyone.
