United flight to Newark returns to Las Vegas over hijack threat
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The gist
A United redeye from Las Vegas to Newark turned back after a 25-year-old allegedly threatened to hijack it.
The FAA counted over 1,400 unruly passenger incidents in 2026.
Background
United Airlines is a major U.S. carrier; its Saturday-night redeye from Las Vegas to Newark carried 150 passengers. The flight returned to Las Vegas less than an hour after departing over what United called a "potential security concern," and police detained a 25-year-old passenger after a report of "terroristic threats." The case lands amid a broader rise in unruly-passenger reports: the FAA (the U.S. aviation regulator) says there have been over 1,400 such incidents in 2026, and the International Air Transport Association logged more than 53,000 incident reports from over 60 operators worldwide in 2024.
How it unfolded
- Oct 24, 2026A United Airlines Saturday-night redeye from Las Vegas to Newark, with 150 passengers aboard, returned to Las Vegas less than an hour after departing over a reported passenger disturbance; a 25-year-old passenger was detained and arrested on charges of making a threat or providing false information regarding an act of terrorism.
- Oct 25, 2026After passengers stayed in Las Vegas overnight, the delayed flight departed for Newark on Sunday morning.
- Oct 27, 2026The arrested man's initial court appearance was scheduled for Tuesday.
Who’s saying what
- Official
- United said the flight returned safely to Las Vegas to address a "potential security concern."
- Official
- Las Vegas police said the man was detained after a report of a person making "terroristic threats."
- Official
- The FAA said the crew reported a "passenger disturbance," that it will investigate, and that there have been over 1,400 unruly passenger incidents so far in 2026.
Still unverified
The criminal complaint alleges the 25-year-old communicated he was "gonna hijack this" plane and "crash ur row only," but it does not specify how the message was sent or to whom; police did not immediately provide details on what he is accused of doing or saying.