A United flight from Chicago to New York was diverted to Pittsburgh as passengers suspected a bomb was on board: “We all start bracing, I start praying,” Jimbo says.

RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars 8 winner Jimbo evacuated from airplane amid bomb scare: ‘Everyone thought we were dying’ (exclusive)

A United flight from Chicago to New York was diverted to Pittsburgh as passengers suspected a bomb was on board: "We all start bracing, I start praying," Jimbo says.

Joey Nolfi

Joey Nolfi is a senior writer at *. *Since 2016, his work at EW includes RuPaul’s Drag Race video interviews, Oscars predictions, and more.

EW's editorial guidelines

April 19, 2026 8:06 p.m. ET

Leave a Comment

'RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars 8' winner Jimbo; United Airlines plane. Credit:

Paramount; Al Drago/Getty

- *RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars 8* winner Jimbo was seen in news videos evacuating from an airplane.

- A United Airlines representative tells * *the flight was diverted due to a "potential security concern."

- Multiple news outlets reported that passengers on board feared that a bomb was on the plane.

*RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars 8* winner Jimbo was evacuated from an airplane amid a bomb scare, as the drag superstar's United Airlines flight from Chicago to New York City was diverted to Pittsburgh due to a "potential security concern," an airline official tells ** in a statement.

"It was so terrifying!" Jimbo exclusively tells EW after the incident, which she previously fans on through her Instagram Story, where she called the ordeal "really scary" and thanked fans for "all the messages and all of the love" in the aftermath.

A United Airlines flight from Chicago to New York City "landed in Pittsburgh" Saturday in order "to address a potential security concern," and "passengers evacuated the aircraft safely via slides," a United spokesperson tells EW in a statement.

The statement continues, adding that "passengers boarded a different aircraft to New York" at around 4:24 p.m. local time, with no injuries reported from the 159 passengers and six crew on board.**

Jimbo tells EW that passengers were initially asked to de-plane before the aircraft took off from Chicago, but were eventually allowed back on the flight.

“Randomly, all of a sudden, the pilot was like, 'Okay, when we command you to brace, everyone needs to brace. Practice your brace position right now,'" the *Canada's Drag Race* alum recalls. "We all start bracing, I start praying."

When the flight eventually landed in its diverted stop in Pennsylvania, "everyone is clapping because everyone thought we were dying," Jimbo recalls.

'Drag Race' winner Myki Meeks wants negative fans to back off queens: 'Bitch, lighten up' (exclusive)

'Drag Race' star Kenya Pleaser reacts to Libs of TikTok, Nancy Mace targeting show (exclusive)

"As soon as people clapped for five seconds, they’re like, 'Run, run, run, go, go, go!' So everyone starts running for the exits," remembers Jimbo. "I literally run out onto the wing," she continues, adding that passengers "had to just hop out onto the wing. They’re like, 'Run,' I’m like, 'Where the f--- do I run?'"

Jimbo remembers "everyone screaming" and eventually says she had to slide down a wing to reach the ground.

In broadcast news coverage of the incident (below), Jimbo can be seen rushing to leave the aircraft and sliding across the wing and running across a field to safety.

***Get your daily dose of entertainment news, celebrity updates, and what to watch with our ******EW Dispatch newsletter*****.**

ABC News reported that the pilots heard "sequential beeping" onboard, with the FBI's Pittsburgh division releasing as statement to local news channel WTAE indicating that bomb techs were on the scene investigating.

The Allegheny County Police Bomb Squad told the station that its EOD and K9 units conducted a sweep of the "plane, passengers, and luggage with negative results," per WTAE.

- RuPaul's Drag Race Fandom

Original Article on Source

Source: “EW RuPaul”