The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) confirmed that Rony Alexander Gomez-Alberto had triggered the hijack scare on the United Airlines flight. The notification came on November 10, stating that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) had lodged a detainer for Gomez-Alberto.
He has been accused of trying to storm the cockpit, claiming he had a bomb. The United Airlines flight was headed to New Orleans from New Jersey. It had 46 passengers and six crew members on board.
Rony Alexander Gomez-Alberto has now been arrested for the bomb threat. “TWICE-DEPORTED ILLEGAL ALIEN ARRESTED AFTER ALLEGED BOMB THREAT. Rony Alexander Gomez-Alberto allegedly attempted to storm the cockpit of a United flight while claiming to have a bomb, prompting a hijack alert. Americans should NEVER have to face threats like this, especially from an illegal alien who should never have been in our country in the first place. Under President Trump, the safety of American citizens will ALWAYS come first. The men and women of ICE will continue working around the clock to MAKE AMERICA SAFE AGAIN!,” ICE noted.
What DHS said about Rony Alexander Gomez-Alberto’s past
DHS, meanwhile, noted that Gomez-Alberto was an illegal alien from Honduras. It noted that his criminal history includes “felony bomb threat, felony threat—terroristic state offenses, and disorderly conduct.” However, they did not specify whether these pertained to past crimes or included the current bomb threat triggered on the United Airlines flight.
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The federal agency further said that he had been removed from the country twice and was released a third time, pending removal proceedings, by a judge.
The DHS told New York Post that Gomez-Alberto was arrested twice for illegally entering the US – first in September 2011 near El Indio, Texas and then in October 2014 in Colombus, New Mexico. He tried entering the US in 2019 through California’s San Ysidro bordern town, where he was reportedly nabbed a third time.
What happened on the United Airlines flight
The United Airlines flight had departed around 9:30pm, before pilots radioed in an attempted breach of the cockpit, which is a “Level 4” threat alert, as per reports. This is the highest level of aviation threat and is used in hijacking situations.
The Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office met the flight when it landed in New Orleans. As per Air Traffic Control audio, a 34-year-old Hispanic man who “spoke nearly no English” was detained in the back of the plane where the flight crew had convinced him to go, New York Post reported.
“He changed into all black before he started trying to reach the cockpit,” local authorities were reportedly heard in the audio recording.