A United Airlines flight headed for Newark, New Jersey, was forced to return to Las Vegas shortly after takeoff on Saturday night after a passenger allegedly wrote that he would "hijack" the plane. The 25-year-old man was arrested on arrival.
According to a copy of the criminal complaint, the man allegedly communicated that he was going to hijack the aircraft, using an expletive in the message, and that he would "crash ur row only." The complaint does not say how the message was sent or who it was directed to.
Las Vegas police said they detained the man after receiving a report of someone making "terroristic threats" aboard the flight. He was arrested on charges of making a threat or providing false information regarding an act of terrorism. The charge carries a possible prison sentence of 1 to 20 years.
An attorney listed for the man did not immediately respond to a request for comment. His initial court appearance is scheduled for Tuesday.
The scheduled redeye flight landed back at the Las Vegas airport less than an hour after it departed, based on data from Flightradar24.
United confirmed that the plane, carrying 150 passengers, returned safely to Las Vegas to address a "potential security concern." The flight was delayed overnight and left for Newark on Sunday morning.
The Federal Aviation Administration said it will investigate the incident. In an email to The Associated Press, the agency noted that there have been more than 1,400 unruly passenger incidents so far in 2026.
