On Sunday, a United Airlines flight from New Jersey to Vermont caused a significant emergency response after a disturbing note was found inside one of the plane’s bathrooms.
Flight 3613 departed from Newark Airport at 3:14 p.m. with 65 passengers and was scheduled to land at Burlington International Airport.
However, 20 minutes before landing, the pilot was notified of a threat, although authorities have not specified the nature of the threat.
Upon being informed of the threat, the pilot notified air-traffic control, and a massive emergency response was launched at the airport.
The airport was closed for several hours after the plane landed about 4:30 p.m. and was taken to an isolated spot on the tarmac.
Responding agencies, including the Vermont State Police Bomb Squad, local police, the Department of Homeland Security, and the FBI, were all involved.
Passengers were kept on board for about two hours before being allowed to disembark.
K-9 units were brought aboard around 6:30 p.m. to sweep the cabin, and once the plane was cleared, the passengers were allowed to leave the aircraft, but without any of their belongings.
Vermont State Senator Phil Baruth was among the 65 passengers on board the plane.
He noted that “They sniffed up and down the plane and then they sniffed each passenger.
They isolated us with police at both ends, and they don’t know whether one of us could be a bad actor, so that doesn’t feel great.”
It was later determined that the threat was not credible, and no one has been arrested. However, the investigation remains ongoing.
Burlington Police Chief Jon Murad praised the successful outcome of the incident, saying, “What we have here is a safe group of people. We have a safe plane.
We have a safe airport. We have procedures that were followed, and we have a successful outcome.”
Passengers on the flight were given limited information about the incident, although they were told that someone had left a note, which Baruth called “deranged.”
Another passenger, Melissa Jones, said, “It was scary. I had to stay calm because of my kids.” United Airlines has not yet provided a comment on the incident.
»United flight from New Jersey to Vermont causes emergency response«
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