A passenger’s phone messages reportedly triggered a major security response aboard a United Airlines flight.
25-year-old Dante Milne was arrested shortly after the aircraft made an emergency landing in Las Vegas over an apparent hijacking threat.
“We went into lockdown,” the pilot was heard saying in a disturbing audio recording.
United Flight 1681 returned to Las Vegas less than 20 minutes after takeoff over an alleged hijacking threat
Highlights
- A United Airlines flight returned to Las Vegas shortly after takeoff over an alleged hijacking threat.
- A crew member reportedly saw a passenger’s text messages about a “crash.”
- “We went into lockdown,” the pilot was heard saying in a disturbing audio recording.
- Following the emergency landing, police arrested a 25-year-old passenger and charged him.
About 150 passengers and six crew members were traveling aboard United Flight 1681, en route to Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey on October 24.
The Boeing 737 took off from Harry Reid International Airport, Las Vegas, just before 11 p.m. local time.
The flight was expected to be about five hours long. But less than 20 minutes after takeoff, the aircraft landed back in Las Vegas over apparent terrorism threats.
The aircraft was reportedly midair when the 25-year-old allegedly said he was “gonna hijack this” plane, according to a copy of the criminal complaint, AP News reported.
“Crash ur row only,” one message allegedly said.
It is unclear how the message was sent or who the receiver was.
A flight attendant reportedly spotted a passenger texting about hijacking the plane
A flight attendant reportedly spotted the passenger sending the alarming texts and immediately alerted the pilot, who decided to turn the plane around rather than continue on to New Jersey.
Audio recordings revealed the unsettling exchange between the pilot and a Las Vegas air traffic controller.
“The flight attendant saw him texting that he was going to hijack the aircraft. They called me,” the pilot said in the recording.
“We went into lockdown, and we returned to Vegas,” he continued.
When the controller asked whether the passenger in question was “compliant or restrained,” the pilot explained that the traveler was unaware of their response.
“We went into lockdown,” the pilot was heard telling an air traffic controller after being informed by the crew
“The passenger does not know anything is going on,” the pilot was heard saying. “...No restraint, passenger is compliant because he’s unaware.”
Since they hadn’t used up enough fuel, the pilot was also heard informing the controller that they couldn’t land immediately because the aircraft was still “grossly overweight.”
Landing when the aircraft is above a certain weight limit can place additional strain on its landing gear and structural components.
So pilots may need to dump fuel, if appropriate, or burn some fuel by flying longer to avoid any risk.
As per flight data, the United Airlines flight 1681 had flown two loops before landing in Las Vegas.
Dante Milne, 25, was arrested after the aircraft returned to Harry Reid International Airport
Officers with the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department responded to the incident and arrested passenger Dante Milne, 25, following the emergency landing.
A Harry Reid International Airport spokesperson later addressed the incident, saying: “We can confirm that United Flight 1681 turned around shortly after takeoff due to a passenger disturbance.”
“No injuries were reported,” they added.
All the passengers were safely removed from the flight, and officials conducted a thorough inspection of the aircraft, according to authorities.
The flight was delayed, and passengers departed to Newark Liberty International Airport on Sunday morning.
In their own statement, United Airlines confirmed that the flight had safely returned to Las Vegas after addressing a “potential security concern.”
“The flight was delayed overnight due to crew timeout, and departed for Newark this morning,” they said.
The 25-year-old passenger is facing charges carrying a possible sentence of one to 20 years behind bars
Milne, who was arrested after touching down in Las Vegas, was booked into the Clark County Detention Center on charges of making a threat or providing false information regarding an act of terr*rism, carrying a possible sentence of one to 20 years behind bars.
Court records showed that his bail was set at $10,000.
He was reportedly released after posting bail and is expected to appear in court on October 27.
“Was it a misunderstanding or was he joking?” one asked online
