United Airlines flight makes emergeny landing in Las Vegas, Nevada.
The incident took place on Saturday night, October 24, aboard United Airlines Flight 1681, which had departed Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas for Newark Liberty International Airport. The flight was carrying 150 passengers. Court records show he posted a $10,000 bond and was released pending a scheduled court appearance on Tuesday. The charge carries a possible prison sentence of one to 20 years. The flight eventually departed for Newark on Sunday morning, October 25.
The chilling text for which a United Airlines flight bound for Newark, New Jersey, was forced to return to Las Vegas after the text was seen by a crew member has now been revealed. Flight delayed overnight United Airlines confirmed that the flight returned safely to Las Vegas to address a “potential security concern.
25-year-old Dante Milne, a passenger, allegedly wrote that he was “gonna hijack this” plane, using an expletive, and would “crash ur row only,” according to a copy of the criminal complaint. A flight attendant noticed the passenger texting about hijacking the aircraft and alerted the pilot, according to reports citing air traffic control audio. We went into lockdown, and we returned to Vegas,” the captain told air traffic controllers, according to an audio recording. When controllers asked whether the passenger was restrained or complying with instructions, the pilot said the man was unaware of what was happening and was cooperating. Passenger arrested over alleged threats Las Vegas police detained the man following a report of “terroristic threats” aboard the flight.
The document does not specify how the messages were sent or who received them. The crew then secured the cockpit and initiated a lockdown procedure. “The flight attendant saw him texting that he was going to hijack the aircraft. They called me. He was arrested on charges of making a threat or providing false information regarding an act of terrorism. The diversion caused an overnight delay after the crew reached its permitted duty-time limit. You use AI every day. Now get your AI Quotient. Take the AIQ test.
The aircraft landed safely at Harry Reid International Airport at around 11.05 pm local time. Because he’s unaware, “No restraint, passenger is compliant. No injuries were reported.
“The passenger does not know anything is going on,” the pilot said. Reports said the plane flew in loops to burn off fuel before returning to Las Vegas. The aircraft had taken off with enough fuel for its planned cross-country journey and could not immediately make a normal landing at its current weight.