Pilots on a United Airlines flight from Newark to New Orleans issued a hijacking alert after a passenger allegedly tried to access the cockpit and claimed to have a bomb. The Boeing 737 Max landed safely and the suspect was taken into custody.
Incident on Flight UA2174
The incident unfolded on Monday on United Airlines flight UA2174, which had taken off as scheduled from Newark airport and headed south towards Louisiana. Pilots issued a level four alert, which is reportedly used for attempted or successful breaches of the cockpit.
The pilot’s message to other United aircraft said: “We had an attempted level four, no other details are known at this time.” The disruptive passenger was seated at the back of the aircraft with the crew for the remainder of the flight.
Safe Landing and Arrest
Despite the alert, the plane made it to New Orleans as planned, touching down shortly after 11pm local time before it was met by the authorities. United Airlines confirmed that the plane landed safely after “a disruptive incident involving a passenger on board.”
The suspect was first identified as a 34-year-old Hispanic male, according to the Daily Mail, citing the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has since named the suspect as Rony Alexander Gomez-Alberto, a Honduran national. He allegedly behaved erratically on board the flight and told the crew that he had a bomb. The DHS said he also tried to enter the cockpit, US media reports.
Suspect’s Immigration History
Gomez-Alberto, who was living in Bronx, New York, is being held in custody in Louisiana without a bond following an ICE request to detain him. He was removed from the United States twice after entering the country illegally, according to authorities.
DHS said the man was deported after an illegal crossing near El Indio, Texas, in 2011. The second deportation came in 2014 after he reportedly crossed into the US near Columbus, New Mexico, according to ABC7 Eyewitness News. He re-entered the country illegally a third time in 2019 near San Ysidro, California, before being arrested by US Border Patrol. Gomez-Alberto was released in January 2020 during removal proceedings by an immigration judge, ABC7 reports.
