On Tuesday, November 4th, a United Airlines flight in the United States made a safe landing at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport after facing a bomb threat, leading to the urgent evacuation of passengers.
The United States Secretary of Transportation, Sean Duffy, shared on social media platform X on Tuesday afternoon: “Earlier today, a United Airlines flight from Houston to the Washington D.C. area received a bomb threat. The flight safely landed at Reagan National Airport (DCA), passengers were evacuated, and law enforcement conducted a thorough search of the aircraft.”
“The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has received the all-clear message, and the airport has resumed operations. I want to thank the brave men and women in law enforcement who quickly responded,” he added.
The airport utilized buses to transport passengers from the United Airlines flight to a terminal and issued a temporary ground stop order.
The FBI Washington Field Office stated that the agency responded to the bomb threat report but did not find any dangerous items. The FBI also mentioned that it is collaborating with other law enforcement agencies to continue investigating the incident.
The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority released a statement on platform X, saying: “United Airlines flight 512 landed at Reagan National Airport around 11:30 am, then was parked on a nearby runway away from the terminal due to a safety threat. The runway remained closed until passengers safely disembarked and were shuttled to the terminal by bus.”
“The runway reopened at 12:50 pm. Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority Police, with the assistance of multiple partner law enforcement agencies, are conducting a thorough investigation. During the closure of the runway, several flights were diverted to other airports,” the statement continued.
United Airlines stated that the involved flight was a Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft, departing from George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, Texas, with 89 passengers and 6 crew members onboard.
According to the audio recordings obtained from LiveATC.net, a website providing real-time air traffic control information, around 11:30 am, air traffic controllers communicated with United Airlines flight 512 approaching Reagan National Airport, informing them of an “unsubstantiated bomb threat” and ordering the flight to turn away.
In the recording, the air traffic controller can be heard telling the crew, “…we need to get you away from the airport.”
This incident highlights the importance of swift responses and coordinated efforts among aviation and law enforcement agencies to ensure the safety and security of passengers and crew during emergencies.