Late on a Monday night, a Boeing 737 MAX 9 carrying 46 passengers and six crew came down safely in New Orleans, where officers were already waiting at the gate. In a moment that passengers and pilots had no doubt treated as dangerous, a man named Rony Alexander Gomez-Alberto is said to have claimed he carried a bomb and to have tried to force his way toward the cockpit. Each official account of the charges tells the story a little differently, and the sheriff's office has not yet spoken for itself, so the shape of what happened in the cabin remains partly in the telling. It is a familiar human
Man With Two Prior Deportations Accused of Bomb Threat and Cockpit Entry on New Orleans-Bound United Flight
A flight carrying 46 passengers and six crew was disrupted by the alleged threat; the source reports no injuries.
Law enforcement met the aircraft upon arrival.
Mark
What actually happened on this flight, as far as we can say?
Mimi
A United flight from Newark to New Orleans, carrying 46 passengers and six crew, landed safely Monday night after what the airline calls a disruptive passenger incident. Deputies arrested Rony Alexander Gomez-Alberto when it arrived.
Mark
And the accusations?
Mimi
That he claimed to have a bomb and tried to get into the cockpit. The pilots reportedly sent a hijacking alert.
Luke
Careful with sourcing there. The bomb claim and the hijacking alert come from the Daily Mail, relayed by Fox. DHS confirmed the cockpit allegation. United only said there was a disruptive incident.
Mark
The charges differ between accounts, don't they?
Mimi
Local reporting citing the sheriff's office says false information about planned arson and terrorizing. DHS lists bomb threat, terroristic threat and disorderly conduct.
Luke
Which means we don't yet have the sheriff's own word on what he's booked for. They hadn't responded.
Mark
What about the immigration history?
Mimi
DHS says he was removed after entries in 2011 and 2014, arrested again in 2019, and released by ICE in January 2020 after a judge ordered release pending removal proceedings. ICE has now lodged a detainer.
Luke
All of that is DHS's account. Nothing in the reporting independently checks it, and the timeline after 2020 is a blank. Also, these are accusations, not findings.
Mark
Anyone hurt?
Mimi
The source reports no injuries.
El Pulso
- A commercial jet from Newark lands in New Orleans with 52 people aboard after a passenger allegedly claimed to have a bomb.
- Pilots reportedly issued a hijacking alert as the man allegedly tried to reach the cockpit.
- Jefferson Parish deputies took him into custody at the aircraft, and booking charges are being sorted out between agencies.
- DHS has moved to tie the case to immigration, lodging a detainer and citing a history of removals it has not independently verified.
- The sheriff's office has not yet answered questions, so the formal charges and the immigration record remain open.
Late on a Monday night, a Boeing 737 MAX 9 carrying 46 passengers and six crew came down safely in New Orleans, where officers were already waiting at the gate. In a moment that passengers and pilots had no doubt treated as dangerous, a man named Rony Alexander Gomez-Alberto is said to have claimed he carried a bomb and to have tried to force his way toward the cockpit. Each official account of the charges tells the story a little differently, and the sheriff's office has not yet spoken for itself, so the shape of what happened in the cabin remains partly in the telling. It is a familiar human scene: fear compressed into minutes at altitude, then the quiet, procedural work of law enforcement and courts to decide what was real.
United Airlines Flight 2174 touched down at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport on Monday night, with law enforcement already waiting beside the Boeing 737 MAX 9 that had flown from Newark. Forty-six passengers and six crew members were aboard. United says the landing was safe and reports no injuries, though the flight was disrupted by an incident involving one passenger.
That passenger, Rony Alexander Gomez-Alberto, was arrested by the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office. According to reports citing the Daily Mail, he allegedly claimed to have a bomb during the flight, prompting the pilots to issue a hijacking alert. DHS says he also tried to enter the cockpit.
Accounts of the charges differ. Local reporting cites booking on charges of communicating false information about planned arson and terrorizing, while DHS lists bomb threat, terroristic threat and disorderly conduct. The sheriff's office had not responded to requests for comment, so those details are not yet confirmed by the agency.
DHS has also placed the case within its immigration framework. On November 10, 2026, ICE lodged a detainer for Gomez-Alberto, whom it describes as a Honduran national. The department says Border Patrol apprehended him near El Indio, Texas, in 2011 and near Columbus, New Mexico, in 2014, with removal following both times, and that he was arrested near San Ysidro, California, in 2019 before ICE released him in January 2020 pending removal proceedings. None of this has been independently verified.
What comes next is the sheriff's account of the cabin, the formal charges, and whether court and immigration records support DHS's version of his past.
United Airlines Flight 2174 touched down at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport on Monday night, and law enforcement was waiting at the aircraft. The Boeing 737 MAX 9, which had flown from Newark, carried 46 passengers and six crew members. United says it landed safely after a disruptive incident involving a passenger. The source reports no injuries.
The passenger taken into custody was Rony Alexander Gomez-Alberto, arrested by the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office. According to the Daily Mail, as cited by Fox News, he allegedly claimed during the flight to have a bomb, and the pilots reportedly issued a hijacking alert in response. The Department of Homeland Security separately said he was accused of trying to enter the cockpit.
The charges are described differently depending on who is speaking. Local reporting citing the sheriff's office said he was booked on charges of communicating false information of planned arson and terrorizing. DHS, in its own statement, listed bomb threat, terroristic threat and disorderly conduct. The sheriff's office did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment, so the formal charging details have not been confirmed directly with the agency.
DHS has added an immigration dimension. A spokesperson said that on November 10, 2026, Immigration and Customs Enforcement lodged a detainer for Gomez-Alberto with the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office. The agency describes him as a Honduran national and a criminal illegal alien who attempted to gain entry to the cockpit.
DHS also laid out a history. It says Border Patrol apprehended him after he entered the country illegally near El Indio, Texas, in September 2011, and again near Columbus, New Mexico, in October 2014. He was removed after both encounters. In 2019, Border Patrol arrested him after an attempted illegal entry near San Ysidro, California. ICE released him from custody in January 2020 after an immigration judge ordered his release pending removal proceedings. These details come from DHS and have not been independently verified.
United confirmed the disturbance in a statement to Fox News Digital, saying the flight landed safely and that law enforcement met the aircraft on arrival. The airline referred further questions to local authorities. The DHS spokesperson added that under President Trump and Secretary Mullin, criminal illegal aliens are not welcome in the United States.
What remains to be seen is the sheriff's office's own account of what happened in the cabin, the formal charges that are filed, and whether court and immigration records bear out DHS's description of his history.
Citas Notables
United flight 2174 from Newark to New Orleans landed safely following a disruptive incident involving a passenger onboard. Law enforcement met the aircraft upon arrival.— United Airlines media relations
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