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A New Jersey-bound Delta Airlines flight turned around mid-air and headed back to a Massachusetts airport after an anonymous caller told police that a passenger on the plane made threats about the flight, authorities said early Monday.
Flight 5770, operated by Republic Airways on behalf of Delta, returned to Boston Logan International Airport on Sunday night after the tipster "reported to a New Jersey police agency that a passenger aboard the plane had allegedly made threats related to the safety of the flight," the Massachusetts State Police said in a statement.
Once the flight landed, state troopers escorted a man off the plane, and state police bomb squad members and explosive-sniffing dogs searched his two carry-on bags, authorities said.
"No hazards were located," the Massachusetts State Police said, adding that the man had no checked luggage.
After the passenger was taken off the flight and his bags were cleared, the flight once again took off for New Jersey's Newark Liberty International Airport, the state police agency said.
"No charges have been sought at this time. The investigation is ongoing. No further information is being released at this time," state police said.
A spokesperson for the Federal Aviation Administration told Insider that the flight "returned safely" to Boston Logan International Airport "after the crew reported a possible security issue."
Republic Airways spokesman Jon Austin told Insider that the flight went back to the Boston airport "to facilitate the removal of a passenger" minutes after it initially departed.
Austin apologized to those affected by the delay.
