United Airlines plane returned to Las Vegas over report of passenger’s SMS — RMF24

In the United States, a United Airlines plane flying from Las Vegas to Newark, New Jersey, returned to its departure airport about 10 minutes after takeoff. There were 157 passengers on board. The reason was information about an SMS from one of the passengers, in which he allegedly wrote about an intention to hijack the plane.

Turnaround over Arizona

The incident occurred on Saturday, October 24. According to Flightradar24, the aircraft turned around over Arizona. As RMF24 reports, CBS News obtained eight recordings of communications between the crew and air traffic controllers. They indicate that the pilot reported a suspected terrorist threat.

According to the pilot, a flight attendant saw a passenger writing an SMS about a possible hijacking of the plane. The crew implemented security procedures and decided to return to Las Vegas. The pilot also said that the passenger cooperated and that no coercive measures were used against him.

More current news is available on the UA.News Telegram channel Telegram.

Detention after landing

Before landing, the plane had to burn off some fuel to reduce its weight. Because of this, the return to Harry Reid International Airport took longer than under normal circumstances.

After landing, the passenger was detained by law enforcement officers. Las Vegas police said on Monday that he was 25-year-old Dante Milne of Clifton, New Jersey. He was charged with offenses related to criminal threats or conveying false information about a terrorist act. United Airlines confirmed that the plane safely returned to Las Vegas on Sunday and that the decision to turn around was made for safety reasons. The investigation is ongoing.