A United Airlines flight from San Francisco to Orlando was evacuated after several passengers inexplicably received a photo of an airsoft gun via their smartphones.
Flight UA2167, which was scheduled to depart at 2:00 PM on Thursday, was preparing for departure when several passengers reported receiving inappropriate photos via Apple’s AirDrop feature.
According to reports, the photos were of an Airsoft gun sent by a teenager on the plane, prompting the pilot to announce a “threat on board” before evacuating the aircraft.
It was determined that the image of the toy gun was taken at a prior date and that the teenager did not have the pistol in his possession.
Law enforcement officials were notified of the incident while passengers were screened again before re-boarding.
The unnamed teenager was also allowed back on the flight.
In a statement, the airline said: “United flight 2167 departing from San Francisco to Orlando was delayed due to a security issue involving a customer on board.
“Law enforcement officials were notified and our teams are working with them to review this matter. As a precaution, all customers deplaned and were rescreened before the flight departed.”
