A security concern on a United Airlines flight from Las Vegas to New York prompted the aircraft to return to Vegas shortly after takeoff. The incident concerns a flight attendant reportedly spotting a passenger texting about hijacking the plane.
A security concern on a routine United Airlines flight from Las Vegas to New York prompted the aircraft to return to Vegas shortly after takeoff after a flight attendant reportedly spotted a passenger texting about hijacking the plane. The crew locked down the cockpit and returned to Las Vegas, where law enforcement met the aircraft.
Once the flight crew was aware, the cockpit was subsequently locked down, and the captain made the decision to return to Las Vegas. The jet made a U-turn over the Arizona ghost town of Oak Grove, before taking a number of turns prior to the aircraft's arrival back into the City of Sin.... "The passenger doesn’t know anything is going on. The flight attendant saw him texting that he was going to hijack the aircraft." Data from Simple Flying's Flight Tracker identifies the plane landed back into Las Vegas at 11:42 PM, around 50 minutes after the plane's initial departure.
Law enforcement met the plane and spoke with the passenger, who reportedly remained unaware of the concern. The flight was then delayed overnight after the crew timed out, and a replacement service departed at 7:03 AM on Sunday, arriving in Newark more than eight hours late.
After the flight crew was made aware of the suspicious message, the aircraft declared a general emergency, squawking 7700. This permitted the jet to receive priority to return to Vegas. The aircraft was carrying fuel for the nearly five-hour flight to Newark and was therefore above its normal landing weight. The pilot told ATC that the plane had around 24,800 pounds (11,249 kg) of fuel for the flight to Newark, which resulted in an overweight landing.