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United Passenger Arrested After Sending Disturbing Message Midair

The alleged offender could face up to 20 years in prison for the messages.

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A United Airlines passenger caused a flight from Los Angeles to Newark, New Jersey, to be turned around less than an hour after takeoff by messaging someone with a threat of hijacking the plane. United confirmed the 150-passenger flight returned safely to Los Angeles, but other passengers were delayed overnight and had to leave for Newark on Sunday morning. Police said they detained the man after a report of a person making “terroristic threats” on Saturday night. The 25-year-old allegedly messaged another unnamed passenger that he’s “gonna hijack this” plane with an expletive and “crash ur row only.” The passenger was met with police upon landing and charged with making a threat or providing false information regarding an act of terrorism, which could mean a possible sentence of 1 to 20 years in prison. Law enforcement documents don’t specify how the message was sent, but the accused is set to appear in court on Tuesday. The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating the incident and told the Associated Press it has seen more than 1,400 similar passenger incidents so far this year.