'I have bomb': Passenger tries to hijack United Airlines flight
What's the story
A United Airlines flight from Newark International Airport to New Orleans was forced to issue a hijack alert on Monday night after a passenger allegedly claimed he had a bomb and attempted to storm the cockpit. The pilots immediately radioed in an attempted breach of the cockpit and issued a 'Level 4' alert, the highest aviation threat alert used in hijacking situations. There were 46 passengers and six crew aboard, the airline confirmed.
Incident resolution
Passenger claimed to have a bomb in his backpack
The passenger, later identified as Rony Gomez Alberto from New York, was restrained at the back of the plane by the flight crew.
The aircraft landed safely at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport around 11:15pm local time.
"He changed into all black before he started trying to reach the cockpit," local authorities were heard saying in the audio recording.
Legal proceedings
Alberto charged with communicating false information of planned arson
The Jefferson sheriff's office said that he was acting irrationally before falsely warning the crew he had a bomb.
Alberto was arrested by the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Department and charged with communicating false information of planned arson and terrorizing.
He is currently being held without bail at the Jefferson Parish Correctional Center.
Safety concerns
Similar threat made on another United flight recently
The incident comes on the heels of another United flight threat case involving Dante Milne, a trainee welder from Woodridge.
Milne had sent a threatening text while onboard flight UA1681 on October 24.
"I'm gonna hijack this bitch and crash ur row only," he said, according to a criminal complaint.
A flight attendant allegedly saw him typing the threatening message, forcing the aircraft to return to Harry Reid International Airport just 15 minutes after takeoff.