Newly released security audio captures the tense response to a United Airlines flight arriving in New Orleans after a passenger allegedly threatened to hijack the plane and claimed he had a bomb in his backpack.
United Flight 2174 was traveling from Newark, New Jersey, to New Orleans on Monday evening when the pilots raised the alarm. The suspect, Rony Gomez-Alberto, 34, of Honduras, was arrested and remains in jail.
The Department of Homeland Security has said Gomez-Alberto was deported from the United States twice before later reentering the country illegally through California. A judge released him in 2020.
No one was injured. The dispatch recordings suggest Gomez-Alberto may have been held near the rear of the aircraft while passengers were leaving.
In the audio, a responder says the man is at the back door and that he had breached it. Others discuss entering the plane from the rear, ask whether officers have a transport cage, and describe the suspect as a Hispanic man wearing a hat, about 5 feet 7 inches tall.
Responders are told to watch for any attempt to move toward the front of the aircraft. Passengers are directed to gather near emergency vehicles, and one voice says the suspect is wearing black. Another transmission notes that a passenger had changed into black clothing before trying to reach the cockpit.
The pilots planned to remain inside the locked cockpit, while flight attendants would leave the aircraft and join responders. One transmission says the suspect does not speak English. Later, a dispatcher confirms he is in custody.
It is unclear which agencies were communicating over the radio. Jefferson Parish sheriff’s deputies arrested Gomez-Alberto. He is listed in jail without bond on charges of terrorizing, communicating false information about planned arson, and being a fugitive from justice.
