A Text at 24,000 Feet Turned United 1681 Around. A 25-Year-Old Is Now Charged.

A 25-year-old man is charged with making a threat regarding an act of terrorism after a flight attendant aboard United Airlines flight 1681 saw him texting that he was going to hijack the aircraft, according to air traffic control audio. The jet turned around over Arizona and landed back in Las Vegas on 24 October 2026, and the passenger did not learn the crew had spotted the message until law enforcement met him on the ground.

A Text at 24,000 Feet Turned United 1681 Around. A 25-Year-Old Is Now Charged.

Las Vegas, Nevada — The flight to Newark had been in the air for minutes when a flight attendant read a message on a passenger's phone and took it to the captain, setting off a return that ended with a felony charge and a jail booking in Clark County.

The Message Nobody On Board Knew About

United Airlines flight 1681 left Harry Reid International Airport at 10:51 p.m. on Saturday, 24 October 2026, bound for Newark Liberty International Airport, 11 minutes behind a scheduled 10:40 p.m. departure, according to Simple Flying. The aircraft climbed to 24,000 feet.

At that altitude, a flight attendant saw a passenger texting that he was going to hijack the aircraft and alerted the captain, according to air traffic control audio reported by Simple Flying and carried by The Jerusalem Post, KDWN and FOX5.

The pilot told air traffic control: "The passenger doesn't know anything is going on. The flight attendant saw him texting that he was going to hijack the aircraft."

The cockpit went into lockdown after the report, per the pilot on the ATC audio. The passenger was not aware the crew had spotted the message until he was met by law enforcement on the ground, according to Simple Flying and KDWN.

What the Complaint Actually Says

The criminal complaint alleges the man communicated "gonna hijack this" plane, using an expletive, and "crash ur row only", according to a copy obtained by the Associated Press. The document does not specify exactly how the message was sent or to whom it was directed.

That gap matters. The air traffic control audio says a flight attendant saw him texting. The complaint as described does not name the medium or the recipient, and Las Vegas police did not immediately provide more details on what the man is accused of doing or saying, the Associated Press reported.

An attorney listed for the man did not immediately return a request for comment, per the Associated Press. The reported charge is the one police booked him on. No federal charge has been filed.

The Turn Back to Las Vegas

The jet made a U-turn over the Arizona ghost town of Oak Grove, then made a number of turns before arriving back in Las Vegas, according to Simple Flying.

It landed back at Las Vegas at 11:42 p.m., about 50 minutes after departure, per flight-tracking data cited by Simple Flying. The Associated Press, citing Flightradar24, said the flight returned to the airport "less than an hour after departing".

FOX5 Las Vegas and Fox News Digital reported the aircraft landed back at roughly 11:05 p.m. That figure conflicts with the 10:51 p.m. departure and the 11:42 p.m. tracked landing.

The aircraft's squawk code changed to 7700, the general-emergency code, not 7500, the unlawful-interference code, The Jerusalem Post reported, citing Simple Flying. No injuries were reported, according to FOX5, KSNV and The Jerusalem Post.

The aircraft carried 150 passengers and six crew members, according to FOX5 and KSNV. Passengers were given overnight accommodation in Las Vegas, KDWN reported. The flight departed for Newark on Sunday morning, United said, and FlightAware showed it arriving there at 3:06 p.m. EDT, according to KSNV.

A Jet Too Heavy to Land Light

The return required a longer-than-standard route to burn off fuel. The 737 MAX 8 has no fuel-dump capability and the tanks were filled for the flight to Newark, leaving the jet overweight for an early landing, The Jerusalem Post reported.

The pilot advised air traffic control the aircraft might need the entire length of Runway 26L. Per the FAA airport diagram, Harry Reid's Runway 26L is 10,526 feet long, according to The Jerusalem Post.

On the aircraft type, the accounts diverge. Simple Flying identifies the jet as a Boeing 737 MAX 8. KSNV describes a Boeing 737. United's statement gives no type.

United said: "United flight 1681 from Las Vegas to Newark on Saturday, Oct. 24, safely returned to Las Vegas to address a potential security concern." The airline added: "The flight was delayed overnight due to crew timeout, and departed for Newark this morning."

The Charge, and the Name Police Put to It

Las Vegas Metropolitan Police detained a 25-year-old man, the Associated Press reported. KSNV News 3 reported that police identified the passenger as Dante Milne, 25, that officers detained him without incident, and that he was booked into the Clark County Detention Center.

The Associated Press did not name the man. KSNV named him from the police identification.

The charge is making a threat or conveying false information regarding an act of terrorism, per KSNV; the Associated Press renders it as "making a threat or providing false information regarding an act of terrorism". He is charged, not convicted, and is presumed innocent.

His initial court appearance was scheduled for Tuesday, 27 October 2026. It had not taken place at the time of publication.

Two Numbers for the Same Sentence

The sentence exposure depends on which figure is cited, and both are on the record.

The Associated Press reports the charge carries a possible sentence of 1 to 20 years in prison. Nevada Revised Statutes 202.448(2) provides that a person who violates the section is guilty of a category B felony, punishable by a state-prison term of not less than 2 years and not more than 20 years, and a fine of not more than $5,000.

The two ranges do not match at the bottom. The statute sets a two-year minimum; the Associated Press account sets a one-year floor. Neither figure has been withdrawn, and no sentencing date exists because the case has not moved past its first appearance.

Federal exposure sits alongside the state count on paper. 49 U.S.C. 46504 covers interference with flight crew members and attendants, with up to 20 years; 49 U.S.C. 46507 covers false information and threats, with up to five years. Neither has been charged here.

A Sky That Has Not Calmed Down

The Federal Aviation Administration said the flight crew reported a "passenger disturbance", according to the Associated Press. The FAA said it will investigate the incident.

The regulator told the Associated Press there have been over 1,400 unruly passenger incidents so far in 2026. As of October, 90 of those cases had investigations initiated and 82 had resulted in some kind of enforcement action, per FAA data cited by the Miami Herald.

It is not a record year. The FAA counted 5,973 incidents in 2021, 2,096 in 2024 and 1,621 in 2025, which leaves this year running above last year's pace, below 2024 and far below the pandemic peak.

The FAA can propose civil penalties of up to $43,658 per violation, and one incident can produce multiple violations. It refers the most serious cases to the FBI for criminal prosecution review, more than 310 of them since late 2021 as of August 2024. Unruly behavior can also cost a passenger TSA PreCheck eligibility or land them on an airline's internal no-fly list.

A Pattern From This Year Alone

What has shifted this year is not the volume but the variety of episodes that end with a jet turning around.

On 1 October 2026, the attempted hijacking of flydubai flight 1073 from Dubai to Tel Aviv involved one of the pilots, who was subdued by passengers, The Jerusalem Post reported. In May 2026, a United flight from Chicago O'Hare to Minneapolis made an emergency landing at Madison, Wisconsin, after a passenger made "multiple attempts to breach the cockpit", per air traffic control audio reviewed by WISN and reported by Fox News Digital.

On 3 September 2026, American Airlines flight 618 from Dallas-Fort Worth to Newark diverted to Baltimore/Washington International after a passenger disturbance, and one man was arrested on Maryland state charges, WJLA reported.

A Frontier Airlines passenger tried to open an exit door mid-flight in May and then tried to choke an off-duty flight attendant, USA TODAY reported. In June, a federal grand jury in Atlanta indicted a Delta passenger, Cody James Maluck, 32, for interference with crew members after a flight attendant alleged he slapped her, a charge carrying up to 20 years.

What the Airline and the Regulator Will Not Say

United's public statement runs to two sentences and addresses the diversion, not the allegation. It confirms the safe return, calls the matter a potential security concern, and explains the overnight delay as crew timeout. It does not describe what the passenger is accused of writing.

The FAA's account is narrower still. It records a passenger disturbance reported by the crew and confirms an investigation. It has not characterized the message, the threat level, or the passenger's conduct beyond that phrase.

No agency has supplied a motive, a description of the message beyond the two fragments in the complaint, or any indication that the man carried a weapon or tried to reach the flight deck. Nothing in the public record says the cabin was told what had happened while the aircraft was still in the air.

That leaves the gap between the radio traffic and the charging document as the unresolved middle of the story: the crew acted on what a flight attendant saw, and the charge rests on what the complaint says he wrote.

What Happens Next

The initial court appearance was set for Tuesday, 27 October 2026, in Las Vegas. Its outcome had not been recorded at the time of publication.

The FAA investigation into the reported passenger disturbance remains open. Because the agency can pursue civil penalties and refer serious cases to the FBI, the state charge may not be the last word on the incident.

The flight itself finished its journey. FlightAware showed United 1681 arriving at Newark Liberty at 3:06 p.m. EDT on Sunday, KSNV reported, after the overnight stay in Las Vegas.

The charge against Milne is a category B felony under Nevada law, with the statutory range and the Associated Press range still standing side by side. He has not been convicted of anything. What is established is narrower: a message a flight attendant saw, a cockpit locked, a jet turned around, and 150 people spending a night in Las Vegas.

By Jessica Ali, Staff Writer

This article was produced with AI-assisted research and editorial support. Sources: Associated Press, Simple Flying, The Jerusalem Post, KSNV News 3, FOX5 Las Vegas, Federal Aviation Administration, Nevada Revised Statutes. Photographs: Tomás Del Coro / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0); Vmzp85 / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0); Al Drago / Getty Images via The Jerusalem Post.