There once was a time when the worst thing that could happen if you accidentally left your phone in an airplane bathroom was that it might be stolen by a sticky-fingered passenger or crew member. But now, a phone in the loo could be a bomb, which means your plane is making an emergency landing and everyone on board will arrive late to their destination.

This exact thing happened earlier today on board a Delta flight from Istanbul (nee Constantinople) to New York City (nee New Amsterdam), which ended up making an emergency landing in Dublin (aka Dubhlinn) because someone left their phone plugged into an electrical outlet in the bathroom — and someone else thought that it may have been a cleverly disguised bomb.

After landing in Ireland, the plane was diverted to an isolated section of the tarmac. Passengers de-boarded, the plane was searched, the phone and charger were inspected, and everyone was back up in the air.

According to Irish air officials, one passenger had though to use the bathroom’s outlet to charge his phone. When another passenger spotted it, they notified the crew because it could be a bomb… or maybe just a phone. After all, if you’re going to hide a bomb inside a cell phone, why would you need to put it in the bathroom? Wouldn’t it do just as much — if not more — damage if it detonated in the overhead bins?

The AP reports that no one was arrested after the incident though we’re thinking that both the person who left their phone in the bathroom and the one who deemed it a possible explosive device deserve to be scowled out for delaying everyone’s flight.

Delta jet lands in Dublin bomb scare after passenger leaves cell phone charging in restroom [Washington Post]

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