United Airlines plunged yesterday after a false report that the carrier had returned to bankruptcy court surfaced on the internet.

A six-year-old Chicago Tribune story on United's 2002 bankruptcy filing, spotted on a Google search yesterday morning by an investment newsletter, triggered a massive sell-off of the carrier's shares until trading was halted. The stock reached a low of $3, then rebounded once trading resumed to close at $10.92. Shares had ended the day at $12.30 on Friday.