United Flight Hijack Threat Suspect Says Drunken Joke Led to Arrest

A New Jersey man accused of texting a threat to hijack a United Airlines flight over the weekend told investigators he had been drinking and characterized the message as badly worded joking between coworkers, according to an arrest report.

Dante Milne, 25, allegedly sent the text Saturday while flying aboard United Flight 1681, a Boeing 737 carrying 150 passengers and six crew members from Las Vegas to Newark, New Jersey.

“I’m gonna hijack this b—- and crash ur row only,” Milne allegedly wrote, according to an arrest report cited by FOX5 Vegas.

A flight attendant reportedly noticed the message soon after takeoff and notified the crew. The captain secured the cockpit and turned the plane around, sending it back to Harry Reid International Airport, where it landed at about 11:05 p.m.

United Airlines previously told News Outlet that the flight remained delayed overnight after the crew reached its legally permitted duty hours. It departed for Newark the next morning.

Authorities charged Milne with one count of making threats or conveying false information about an act of terrorism.

The arrest report says Milne told investigators he had consumed a beer and several shots at an airport bar before boarding the flight.

He said he fell asleep after getting on the plane and woke to find that the aircraft was heading back toward Las Vegas.

Milne initially confirmed that he had texted someone on the flight but said he did not remember what he had written. When investigators asked specifically about the alleged hijacking threat, he called it poorly phrased “banter between coworkers,” the report states.

He reportedly told detectives that he never intended to seize control of the aircraft and apologized for the disruption.

According to the report, Milne was traveling home after spending three days in Las Vegas attending an apprenticeship training program focused on underwater welding.

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Air traffic control audio obtained by ATC.com and previously reported by Fox News captured the pilot briefing controllers as the plane returned to Las Vegas. The pilot indicated that the passenger believed to have sent the threat apparently did not know the aircraft had turned around because of his message.

“The passenger does not know anything is going on,” the pilot told air traffic controllers. “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.”

Milne was later released on $10,000 bail. His attorney told a judge Tuesday that Milne planned to plead not guilty, according to KLAS-TV.

He is scheduled to return to court on Jan. 5.

Following the incident, United Airlines said the flight returned to Las Vegas because of a “potential security concern.”

“United Flight 1681 from Las Vegas to Newark on Saturday, Oct. 24, safely returned to Las Vegas to address a potential security concern,” the airline previously told News Outlet.

“The flight was delayed overnight due to crew timeout, and departed for Newark this morning.”

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) also confirmed that the flight’s crew reported a “passenger disturbance” and that the incident remained under investigation.