Think for a minute. What’s the absolute worst name you could give a Bluetooth accessory you’re going to take on a plane? A teenager on a flight from Spain reportedly chose one so bad that it caused the airliner to turn around halfway and return to New Jersey.
It’s a warning that airlines do not have a sense of humor, and you’re probably not as clever as you think you are.
Do not name your Bluetooth accessory ‘Bomb’
The flight on Saturday from Newark to Palma de Mallorca turned around hours into the flight. United Airlines told NPR it was necessary “to address a potential security concern.”
The security concern? Someone being stupid.
“There is an active Bluetooth network labeled ‘BOMB,’ ” a passenger on the flight posted to TikTok.
The flight returned to Newark, the passengers deplaned, and Port Authority police inspected the jet. The passengers went through another round of security checks before reboarding, according to The Sun.
The Bluetooth device was allegedly a Fitbit owned by a 16-year-old on the flight. The FBI is now investigating.
Being an idiot isn’t funny
This incident happened just months after a Turkish Airlines flight was diverted to Barcelona after the crew discovered a Wi-Fi hotspot network on the plane named “I have a bomb, everyone will die.” NATO jets scrambled from France to intercept the flight.
And there are plenty of less dramatic examples. Schools have repeatedly dealt with students using AirDrop or Bluetooth names containing threats and racial slurs.
The takeaway is that a “joke” name for a Bluetooth device name, AirDrop or Wi-Fi hotspot can become a huge hassle for everyone involved if they pop up in airports, schools, government buildings or public events.
As the Newark flight shows, the consequences can include flight diversions, police involvement and federal investigations. That’s not funny.
Ed Hardy has been writing full-time about tech for 25 years, and using it for much longer than that. His intro to Apple was a Macintosh SE/30 (which he still has), but now he uses a 13-inch iPad Pro as his primary computer.
That’s because he’s a “tablet first” type of guy. Rather than use a Macbook, he connects a keyboard case to the iPad. And instead of a desktop Mac, he connects his tablet to a 27-inch display and full-size keyboard. (So don’t try to tell him that everyone has to use a Mac to be productive.)
Before coming to Cult of Mac, Ed wrote for NotebookReview, TabletPCReview and Brighthand, as well as other sites.
One response to “Airline passenger picks the worst possible name for Bluetooth accessory”
“being an idiot isn’t funny.” I dunno man, I laughed pretty hard at the idiocy described in this article.