A United flight bound for Newark returned to Las Vegas after a flight attendant reported a passenger’s text referring to hijacking the plane and crashing a row, according to a police report. Dante Milne, 25, was arrested and charged with making a threat or offering false information related to terrorism. Milne told officers the message was banter with a co-worker and denied intending harm; his attorney says he plans to plead not guilty. The report says the captain was notified after the plane passed 10,000 feet and describes the timing as consistent with sterile flight deck procedures. The excerpt gives no court date, delay length, passenger compensation details, or final outcome.
TLDR: A flight attendant reported a threatening text aboard a United flight, prompting a return to Las Vegas and the arrest of passenger Dante Milne. He says the message was workplace banter, denies intending harm, and plans to plead not guilty; no court schedule or outcome is reported.
A United flight bound for Newark returned to Las Vegas shortly after takeoff Saturday night after a flight attendant reported a passenger’s text about hijacking the plane, according to a police report. Dante Milne, 25, was arrested and charged with making a threat or offering false information in reference to an act of terrorism. The charge is an allegation, and Milne’s attorney said he plans to plead not guilty.
The report describes the crew’s response as a safety procedure, not a finding that Milne intended to carry out the message. It says the captain was notified after the aircraft passed 10,000 feet, consistent with sterile flight deck procedures, and the flight returned to Las Vegas after the report reached the crew. The excerpt does not identify a broader policy change or provide a separate official rationale for the diversion.
According to the report, a flight attendant first noticed two passengers exchanging messages during boarding. Those messages included derogatory remarks about other passengers and attendants. Later, the attendant saw an incoming text that began, “I’m gonna hijack,” and told the lead flight attendant. Police later identified Milne as the sender.
Police said the full message referred to hijacking the plane and crashing a particular row. The wording was reported as a text, not as an action taken aboard the aircraft. The distinction matters: the plane turned back because the message was reported, while the account of what Milne meant comes from his statements to officers and remains part of the case.
A recording posted on an air traffic control app captures the pilot telling an air traffic controller that a flight attendant had reported the text. The pilot then said the aircraft would return to Las Vegas. The police report says the captain was informed after the plane passed 10,000 feet, or about 3,050 meters, and describes that timing as consistent with sterile flight deck procedures.
Milne told officers the message was banter between co-workers and that he had no intention of hijacking the aircraft or harming anyone, the report says. He characterized the wording as poorly stated. The report also says he initially acknowledged exchanging texts with the other passenger, whom he had met at a training program, but said he could not recall their content.
Milne told officers he was in Las Vegas for a three-day apprenticeship training program connected to his work as an underwater welder. He said he had consumed beer and shots at an airport bar and planned to sleep on the flight. According to the report, he said he had been asleep and woke to learn the plane was returning to Las Vegas. Those details are attributed to Milne’s account in the arrest report; they do not establish the charge.
His attorney, James Gallo, told The Associated Press that he was still evaluating the case and that Milne plans to plead not guilty. The excerpt provides no court date, hearing schedule, or further details about the evidence that prosecutors may present. It also does not report a conviction or a final resolution.
The response disrupted the trip for passengers headed to Newark and required the aircraft to return to its departure city. The source does not state the length of the delay, any financial cost, whether passengers received compensation, or what arrangements followed the diversion. It reports no forms or filing requirements for passengers. Those details are not available in the account.
The incident is part of a wider pattern of reported aviation responses to threatening remarks. A man was arrested in Chicago in 2022 after joking about having a bomb while checking a bag, according to the account. In 2017, a Turkish Airlines flight was diverted after someone named a Wi-Fi hotspot “bomb on board.” The article also says an Allegiant Air flight made an emergency landing last summer after a passenger told another passenger his laptop was a bomb. It notes that making such jokes can be a felony in most jurisdictions, without specifying the applicable law or penalty in Milne’s case.
The report places the flight’s return amid heightened industry attention after authorities said, less than a month earlier, that a FlyDubai co-pilot attacked the captain with an axe and tried to crash the plane before passengers intervened. That separate event is not evidence about Milne’s intent or the facts of this case. The immediate reported sequence here remains specific: a flight attendant saw a text, notified the lead attendant, the captain was informed, and the pilot returned the aircraft to Las Vegas.
The next steps are the criminal proceedings, though the excerpt supplies no deadline or schedule. Milne faces the stated charge, and his attorney says he intends to plead not guilty. The reported diversion and arrest followed established crew communications described in the police report; the case will proceed through the legal process, with no outcome yet reported.
Rachel Vaughn serves as a Senior Correspondent for Just Right News, where she leads the network’s coverage of Global Health, Climate, and Development. With a career defined by intellectual rigor and a commitment to principled reporting, Rachel provides a vital conservative perspective on some of the most complex and high-stakes issues facing the world today. Her work is characterized by a refusal to accept bureaucratic narratives at face value, focusing instead on how international policies impact national sovereignty, individual liberty, and the American taxpayer.
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