Delta Plane Switches Directions Mid-Flight After Anonymous Threat

A Delta Airlines flight was forced to change course midway through its journey after an anonymous threat was reported.

The incident took place on Sunday afternoon and involved Flight 5770, run by Republic Airways on behalf of Delta, which had departed from Boston's Logan Airport en route to Newark, New Jersey. Partway through the journey, however, the plane turned around and returned to Boston after a tip was made "to a New Jersey police agency that a passenger aboard the plane had allegedly made threats related to the safety of the flight," according to the Massachusetts State Police.

The exact nature of the alleged threat has not been disclosed to the public at this time. The State Police's official statement described the tip as coming from an "anonymous third-party caller."

Once Flight 5770 landed back in Boston, it was greeted by Massport Fire and Massachusetts State Police, with state troopers arriving to escort an unidentified man off the plane. Members of the State Police Bomb Squad conducted searches of the man's two carry-on bags, utilizing "explosive ordinance detection dogs," ultimately finding no threats onboard.

"No hazards were located," the statement noted. "The passenger had no checked luggage. After the passenger was removed and his bags cleared, the airplane departed again for Newark."

Spiking in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, incidents involving unruly passengers on flights have been on the decline recently. Fox Business reported that less than 2,500 such incidents were reported last year, down from their peak of nearly 6,000 in 2021.

In a later statement reported on by Boston 25 News, the State Police reported that the unnamed man had cooperated with authorities and that the original call was deemed to be a hoax.

"The man left the barracks after cooperating with investigators," the statement read. "The investigation into the source of the hoax call, which was made to authorities in another state, is being conducted by another law enforcement jurisdiction."

As of Monday afternoon, the investigation into the allegations remains ongoing, and no charges are currently being sought against any party. Newsweek reached out to the Massachusetts State Police via email for comment.

Responding to an inquiry from Insider, the Federal Aviation Administration confirmed that Flight 5770 was "returned safely" to Logan Airport after the crew was alerted to "a possible security issue." A spokesman for Republic Airways also told the outlet that the threat report came only minutes after takeoff, and that the return was done "to facilitate the removal of a passenger." The spokesman also issued an apology to all who were impacted by the situation.