United Airlines flight makes dramatic diversion over 'bomb threat' after 'pilots heard beeping device'

By BETHAN SEXTON, US ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR Published: 18:18, 18 April 2026 | Updated: 18:25, 18 April 2026 A United Airlines flight was forced to divert following reports of bomb on board. The New York City-bound plane was rerouted to Pittsburgh International Airport, the US Mirror reports. The jet took off from Chicago and climbed to an altitude of 37,000 feet before an emergency was declared above Lake Erie. Flight audio from flight UA2092 posted on LiveATC.net indicated that pilots on the flight became alarmed after noticing a 'beeping' device. 'We've got an issue up here. We're getting a sequential beeping of a suspected item onboard. We are going to have to start treating this as a potential bomb,' the pilot said. 'We are going to need to go and start a diversion and get things settled. It's a beeping noise, sequential, one beep per second.' United Airlines confirmed to the Daily Mail that the Boeing 373 was diverted for a 'potential security concern,' but did not confirm it was a bomb threat.  The 159 passengers onboard had to deplane via slides onto the runway, United said.   Developing story, please check back for updates.  A United Airlines flight was forced to divert following reports of bomb on board No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.