New Jersey Man Arrested for Threatening United Airlines Flight

A New Jersey individual has been accused of sending a text threatening to hijack a United Airlines flight over the weekend. The man, Dante Milne, 25, reportedly told investigators that he had been drinking and described his message as poorly phrased joking around with a colleague, according to an arrest report.

Milne allegedly sent the message on Saturday while on United Airlines Flight 1681, which was a Boeing 737 carrying 150 passengers along with six crew members, traveling from Las Vegas to Newark, New Jersey.

In this message, Milne reportedly wrote, “I’m gonna hijack this b—- and crash ur row only.”

The flight crew became aware of the message soon after takeoff. A flight attendant noticed it and alerted the captain, who proceeded to secure the cockpit and diverted the aircraft back to Harry Reid International Airport. The plane landed around 11:05 p.m.

The flight experienced an overnight delay since the crew reached their maximum working hours. They ended up leaving for Newark the next morning, as stated by United Airlines.

Milne was subsequently charged with making threats or conveying false information related to an act of terrorism.

According to the arrest report, Milne mentioned that he had consumed a beer and several shots at an airport bar before boarding the flight. After that, he claimed he fell asleep on the plane and awoke to find out that they were heading back to Las Vegas.

Initially, he admitted to texting someone on the flight but couldn’t recall the specifics of the messages. When questioned about the hijacking threat, he claimed it was just poorly conveyed “banter between coworkers.” Notably, Milne stated he had no intention of taking control of the aircraft and expressed regret for the incident.

According to the report, he had just returned from a three-day apprenticeship training program focused on underwater welding in Las Vegas.

Audio from air traffic control captured the pilot explaining the situation as they returned to Las Vegas, mentioning that Milne was apparently unaware that the flight had turned around due to his actions.

The pilot relayed to air traffic controllers that, “The passenger does not know anything is going on. The flight attendant saw him texting that he was going to hijack the aircraft and called me, and we went lockdown… No restraint, passenger is compliant because he’s unaware.”

Following the incident, Milne was released on a $10,000 bond, and his attorney indicated that he plans to plead not guilty, as reported by KLAS-TV. Milne is scheduled to return to court on January 5.

Afterward, United Airlines stated that they returned the flight to Las Vegas to address a “potential security concern.” They noted that the flight had to delay overnight due to crew scheduling and departed for Newark the following morning.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) confirmed that the crew reported a “passenger disturbance,” and the incident remains under investigation.