Passenger accused of sending hijacking threat on United Airlines flight

A New Jersey man was arrested after allegedly sending a text message threatening to hijack a United Airlines flight over the weekend. Fox News reported that 25 year old Dante Milne allegedly sent the message while traveling aboard United Airlines Flight 1681 from Las Vegas to Newark, New Jersey. [1]

The aircraft involved was a Boeing 737 carrying 150 passengers and six crew members. According to an arrest report cited by FOX5 Vegas and reported by Fox News, Milne allegedly wrote that he was going to hijack the aircraft and crash it into the row of the recipient. [1]

Milne told investigators that he had been drinking and described the text as poorly worded banter with a coworker. Fox News reported that cockpit audio captured the pilot explaining the diverted flight while Milne allegedly slept, unaware that he had caused the emergency. [1]

Drunken flight disruptions have led to legal action in previous incidents. As FTMQ News reported earlier, a 37 year old man pleaded guilty after causing a drunken disruption on a Ryanair flight from Barcelona to Cork. [14]