United flight from NJ makes emergency landing in Chicago

✈️ A bomb threat was reportedly found in a bathroom of the Boeing 787

✈️ 202 passengers were taken off the plane and bags checked

✈️ A K-9 sniffed out a suspicious bag

A Los Angeles flight that departed Newark Liberty on Wednesday morning was forced to land in Chicago because of an unruly passenger.

United Airlines said the crew aboard flight 1533, which left Newark at 6:40 a.m.,  reported a "potential security concern," which forced the landing with 202 passengers and nine crew members.

The Boeing 787 landed at 8:45 a.m., according to FlightAware.com.

The passenger "physically tangled" with the crew after the word "bomb" was found written on a bathroom on board the flight, unnamed law enforcement and airline sources told Chicgao's WLS TV. The incident created a Level Two threat, a term used by the FAA when a physical altercation develops on a plane.

A robot was used to move a piece of luggage after a bomb-sniffing K-9 detected a suspicious bag, CBS Chicago reported. The passenger who checked the bag was being questioned.

ESPN writer Ian O'Connor said on his X account that passengers were not told what caused their flight to be diverted until the plane landed and first responders approached the plane.

"The crew did a good job being firm and urgent without showing panic," O'Connor said.

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