Passenger's 'Hijack' Text Forces Plane Turnaround

A United Airlines flight back to Las Vegas turned around after a passenger texted that he was going to hijack the aircraft. The incident occurred Saturday night when the plane was headed to Newark, New Jersey.

Dante Milne, 25, was taken into custody by Las Vegas police. He is charged with making a threat or offering false information in reference to an act of terrorism. His attorney, James Gallo, said Milne plans to plead not guilty.

A flight attendant first noticed two passengers exchanging text messages during boarding. The messages included derogatory remarks about other passengers and attendants. Later, the attendant saw an incoming message that began with the words “I'm gonna hijack.”

The full message read: “I’m gonna hijack this” plane, although Milne used an expletive instead of the word plane, “and crash ur row only.” The sender was identified as Milne.

The captain was notified once the aircraft passed 10,000 feet. This timing is consistent with sterile flight deck procedures. A recording posted on the ATC app shows the pilot telling an air traffic controller that a flight attendant reported the text message. The pilot then proceeded to return to Las Vegas.

Milne, a resident of Woodridge, New Jersey, told officers he was in Las Vegas for a three-day apprenticeship training program. He works as an underwater welder. The police report states he consumed beer and shots at an airport bar before boarding. He intended to sleep during the flight.

Milne said he was asleep when he woke up and learned the flight was returning to Las Vegas. He acknowledged exchanging texts with the other passenger, whom he had met at the training program. Initially, he said he could not recall the content of the conversation.

When questioned about the hijacking message, Milne characterized the wording as poorly stated. He suggested the conversation involved banter between co-workers. The police report notes that Milne denied intending to hijack the aircraft, crash it, or harm anyone.

This incident follows a trend of passengers using aviation terminology in jokes. In 2022, a man in Chicago was arrested for joking about a bomb while checking his bag. In 2017, a Turkish Airlines flight was diverted after a passenger renamed their Wi-Fi hot spot “bomb on board.” Last summer, an Allegiant Air flight made an emergency landing after a 27-year-old man told another passenger his laptop was a bomb.

Making that kind of joke can be a felony in most jurisdictions. The airline industry remains sensitive to the subject of bombs or hijackers. Authorities are currently on high alert less than a month after the co-pilot on a FlyDubai flight attacked the captain with an axe and tried to crash the plane before passengers intervened.