A United Airlines flight from Newark, New Jersey, landed safely in New Orleans early Tuesday after a passenger claimed to have a bomb and the crew issued a hijack alert. No bomb was found, and the plane was not taken over.
United Flight 2174 left Newark Liberty International Airport around 9:30 p.m. ET on Monday, Nov. 9, bound for Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport. The airline said the Boeing 737 MAX 9 was carrying 46 passengers and six crew members.
United said the flight “landed safely following a disruptive incident involving a passenger onboard” and that law enforcement met the aircraft on arrival.
What authorities say happened
The Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office said 34-year-old Rony Gomez-Alberto began acting irrationally on board and told crew members he had a bomb. Deputies arrested him without incident after the plane landed and booked him with communicating false information of planned arson and terrorizing. He was taken to the Jefferson Parish Correctional Center.
NOLA.com, quoting sheriff’s spokesman Sgt. Brandon Veal, reported that Gomez-Alberto was being held without bail. FOX 8, WWL, and WDSU also reported the arrest and the charges, citing the sheriff’s office. The Associated Press reported the same account and carried United’s statement.
WWL, which obtained radio transmissions from the security response on the ground, reported that no bombs were found. Those recordings also said the pilots stayed locked in the cockpit after landing, passengers were taken off the aircraft, and Gomez-Alberto was taken into custody at 12:13 a.m. Central time Tuesday, or 1:13 a.m. ET.
A hijack alert, not a completed hijacking
The Federal Aviation Administration said Flight 2174 landed safely at about 11:10 p.m. local time in New Orleans, which is 12:10 a.m. ET Tuesday, after the crew reported a passenger disturbance. The agency said it will investigate. The FAA’s public statement did not describe a hijacking or a bomb.
Aviation tracking data cited by Simple Flying and AeroCorner showed the jet’s transponder was set to 7500 during the descent into New Orleans, around 11:42 p.m. ET. That four-digit code is used to alert air traffic control to a hijacking or unlawful interference. The flight continued to its scheduled destination and was not diverted, according to that tracking data.
In other words, the crew signaled a possible hijacking or security threat. Officials have not said the plane was hijacked. It landed on its original route, passengers were deplaned, and a suspect was arrested on the ground.
The cockpit claim
Some coverage has said the passenger tried to reach or storm the cockpit. That has not been confirmed in public statements from United, the FAA, or the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office, which have described a disruptive passenger and an alleged bomb claim.
WWL’s radio recordings included a report from one passenger that the man “changed into all black before he stopped trying to reach the cockpit.” Simple Flying, citing an ACARS message sent to other United aircraft, reported that the crew described an “attempted level four” threat, language used in the industry for a possible attempted or actual cockpit breach. Those accounts are attributed to a passenger report and to aviation messaging. They are not the same as an official finding that the cockpit was breached.
WDSU reported that the FBI said the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Louisiana will decide whether federal charges are filed.