United Flight 2174 Passenger Arrested After Alleged Bomb Threat and Cockpit Attempt on 46-Person Jet
Updated
Updated · Fox News · Nov 11
United Flight 2174 Passenger Arrested After Alleged Bomb Threat and Cockpit Attempt on 46-Person Jet
3 articles · Updated · Fox News · Nov 11
Summary
Jefferson Parish deputies arrested Rony Alexander Gomez-Alberto after United Flight 2174 landed in New Orleans following a midair disturbance in which he allegedly claimed to have a bomb and tried to reach the cockpit.
United said the Boeing 737 MAX 9 was flying from Newark to New Orleans with 46 passengers and six crew, and landed safely before law enforcement met the aircraft.
DHS said ICE lodged a detainer on Nov. 10 and identified Gomez-Alberto as a Honduran national previously deported twice after illegal entries in 2011 and 2014.
DHS also said Border Patrol arrested him again in 2019 near San Ysidro, and an immigration judge ordered his release from ICE custody in January 2020 pending removal proceedings.
Local reports said he was booked on charges including communicating false information of planned arson and terrorizing, while DHS separately cited bomb-threat, terroristic-threat and disorderly-conduct offenses.
How did a passenger with multiple deportations clear TSA screening to board a commercial flight before triggering a hijack alert?
Does this mid-air bomb threat expose hidden vulnerabilities in the communication between federal immigration enforcement and aviation security agencies?
Will recent ICE policy changes restricting detainee location data complicate the legal proceedings for this high-profile flight disruption case?