Plane at New Jersey airport evacuated after attendants report suspicious photo

ByEyewitness News WABC logo
Saturday, July 13, 2019
Plane evacuated at Newark Airport due to suspicious item

NEWARK, New Jersey -- A plane at Newark Airport was evacuated Saturday morning after flight attendants reported a suspicious photo.

A source close to the investigation tells Eyewitness News two flight attendants received an airdropped photo of a suicide vest on their iPhones and went to tell the captain.

The incident was reported at about 7:50 a.m. on JetBlue flight 573 bound for Tampa.

About 150 passengers were taken off the plane onto the tarmac via stairways and were bused to a gate to board another plane.

K9 units sniffed through the plane, and luggage was removed and rescreened.

Port Authority police detectives are investigating where the photo came from.

Copyright © 2026 WABC-TV. All Rights Reserved.