United flight from Newark sends hijack alert after passenger claims bomb tries to storm cockpit

A disturbed passenger claimed he possessed a bomb and attempted to storm the cockpit of a United Airlines flight departing from New Jersey Monday evening, prompting pilots to send out a hijack alert.

New Orleans-bound United Flight 2174, carrying 46 passengers and six crew members, took off from Newark International Airport around 9:30 p.m. before the pilots radioed an attempted cockpit breach, a “Level 4” threat alert, according to the airline and the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office, local affiliate FOX8 reported.

Level 4 is the highest air threat alert and is used in hijacking situations.

United Airlines confirmed the incident to the Post and said that The sheriff’s office encountered the Boeing 737 upon his arrival in New Orleans, according to authorities.

Air traffic control audio revealed that the madman – a 34-year-old Hispanic man who “speaks almost no English” – was stopped at the rear of the plane after being convinced to head to the rear by the flight crew to allow the plane to land safely in New Orleans.

“He turned completely black before he started trying to reach the cockpit,” local authorities hear in the audio recording.

Intense audio captured officials trying to coordinate the safe exit of passengers from the plane, while the plane’s pilots remained locked in the cockpit.

“The plane is empty except for the pilot and (co-)pilot who are currently locked in the cockpit,” a first responder said, according to the recordings.

The Jefferson Sheriff’s Office identified the would-be hijacker as New Yorker Rony Gomez-Alberto, 34, local authorities told NOLA.com, adding that he was acting irrationally before falsely warning the crew that he had a bomb.

Gomez remained on the plane to try to negotiate with police before being arrested, local authorities told WDSU News.

The plane’s passengers arrived safely at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport after the incident, landing around 11:15 p.m., according to a United Airlines spokesperson.

Gomez-Alberto was taken into custody after the plane landed, local authorities told the media outlet.

He was charged with communicating false information about a planned arson and acts of terror, according to the publication.

Gomez-Alberto is being held without bail at the Jefferson Parish Correctional Center, according to authorities.

A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson told the Post that Gomez-Alberto, a Honduran national, attempted three times to enter the United States illegally. He was arrested twice for illegal entry into the United States – first in September 2011 near El Indio, Texas, and again in October 2014 in Columbus, New Mexico.

He was expelled after both attempts, the spokesperson said.

The slippery migrant then returned to the United States in 2019 through the border town of San Ysidro in California, before being arrested a third time by Border Patrol.

But he was released from ICE custody in January 2020 after a judge ordered his release pending removal proceedings.

ICE filed a detainer for Gomez-Alberto with local authorities on Tuesday, according to DHS.

The nightmare aboard the plane occurred just weeks after Dante Milne, 25, was arrested for allegedly threatening to bring down a United Airlines flight to New Jersey.

Milne, an apprentice welder from Woodridge who was returning home from a trip to Las Vegas, texted, “I’m going to hijack this bitch and crash your row only,” according to a criminal complaint.

A flight attendant allegedly saw Milne type the threatening message regarding the Oct. 24 flight, causing the plane to return to Harry Reid International Airport just 15 minutes after takeoff, the document states.

Milne told cops he was drunk and joking with a friend when he sent the text, and added that the message was poorly worded “coworker joking,” according to the arrest report.

Local officials did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment.