Passenger Faces Felony Terrorism Charges After Alleged Mid-Air Hijack Threats Divert United Flight to Las Vegas

LAS VEGAS, NV — A 25-year-old traveler accused of triggering a high-level airborne security emergency by sending electronic messages threatening to hijack a Newark-bound passenger jet made his initial appearance in Las Vegas Justice Court on Tuesday.

The defendant, identified in court records and police arrest logs as Dante Milne, faces a felony charge of making a threat or conveying false information concerning an act of terrorism under Nevada Revised Statutes.

The statutory violation carries a potential sentence ranging from one to 20 years in prison.

The charge stems from an in-flight crisis aboard United Airlines Flight 1681.

The Boeing 737 departed Harry Reid International Airport carrying 150 passengers and six crew members en route to Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey.

According to the arrest declaration and criminal complaint unsealed by prosecutors, the airliner had reached cruising altitude over the desert Southwest when a flight attendant walking through the cabin observed Milne transmitting threatening text messages on his mobile device.

The complaint details that Milne allegedly typed messages stating he was “gonna hijack this” plane and threatened that he would “crash ur row only”.

+--------------------------------------------------------+
|          UNITED FLIGHT HIJACK THREAT DOSSIER           |
+--------------------------------------------------------+
|  - Date / Arraignment: Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2026          |
|  - Lead Reporting Sources: AP, LiveNOW from FOX & LV Sun|
|  - Defendant: Dante Milne, Age 25                      |
|  - Formal Charge: Making a Threat or Providing False   |
|    Information Regarding an Act of Terrorism           |
|    (NRS 202.448 / Category B Felony Exposure)          |
|  - Sentencing Exposure: 1 to 20 Years in State Prison  |
|  - Incident Flight: United Airlines Flight 1681        |
|    (Las Vegas Harry Reid / LAS to Newark / EWR)        |
|  - Aircraft Manifest: 150 Passengers & 6 Crew Members  |
|  - Crucial Evidence: In-Flight Text Messages Observed   |
|    by Cabin Crew Threatening Hijacking & Crash         |
|  - Tactical Action: Cockpit Lockdown, Holding Loops    |
|    to Burn Off Fuel & Emergency Return to LAS          |
|  - Custody Status: Initial Justice Court Appearance;   |
|    Posted $10,000 Bail Pending Preliminary Hearing     |
|  - Federal Status: Parallel FAA Investigation Underway |
+--------------------------------------------------------+

Cockpit Lockdown, Weight Burn-Off and Emergency Tarmac Interception

Adhering to commercial aviation emergency directives, the flight attendant notified the senior cabin lead, who immediately alerted the flight deck.

The captain enacted cockpit security lockdown procedures and declared an airborne emergency with regional air traffic control.

Cockpit radio transmissions and flight telemetry logs revealed that because the aircraft had departed with a heavy fuel load for the cross-country transcontinental flight, the pilots were forced to execute holding patterns over the desert to burn off fuel and reduce landing weight before touching down at Harry Reid.

Milne remained unaware that his communications had been detected and was not physically restrained during the flight.

Upon touchdown, the Boeing 737 was guided to an isolated taxiway perimeter away from commercial gates.

Officers from the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (LVMPD) Airport Bureau, joined by federal agents, boarded the plane and took Milne into custody without resistance.

Inspection teams swept the cabin and checked all luggage, confirming no firearms, explosives, or physical weapons were present on the aircraft.

Due to the diversion and investigation, the flight crew timed out under mandatory Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) duty-rest limits, forcing United Airlines to delay the flight overnight before flying passengers to Newark the following morning.

Bail Determinations and Federal Civil Penalties

During his appearance before a Las Vegas Justice Court magistrate at the Regional Justice Center, Milne stood to hear the felony allegations read into the record.

The court established conditions of release after Milne posted a $10,000 bond, mandating that he remain under pre-trial monitoring and refrain from entering airport property or boarding commercial aircraft without prior judicial authorization.

+--------------------------------------------------------+
|             LEGAL & REGULATORY CONSEQUENCES            |
+--------------------------------------------------------+
|  • Criminal Venue: Las Vegas Justice Court preliminary |
|    hearing to determine bind-over to District Court    |
|  • Restitution Liability: Potential court-ordered      |
|    restitution to carrier for jet fuel & ground costs  |
|  • FAA Civil Penalties: Agency pursues fines of up to  |
|    $37,000 per violation under Unruly Passenger policy |
|  • National Context: FAA has logged over 1,400 unruly  |
|    passenger incident inquiries nationwide this year   |
+--------------------------------------------------------+

Beyond the pending state felony prosecution, the FAA confirmed it is advancing an independent regulatory inquiry.

Under federal civil enforcement policies, individuals who issue threats or disrupt flight operations face maximum civil penalties reaching $37,000 per violation, along with potential federal restitution claims for emergency diversion expenses.

A preliminary hearing date in Las Vegas Justice Court will be assigned in the coming weeks.

Source: Las Vegas Justice Court Dockets, Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department Event Dispatches, Associated Press Wire (Reported by Jessica Hill and Rio Yamat), Federal Aviation Administration Incident Dispatches.