Monday night. United Airlines Flight 2174 is in the air, headed from Newark, New Jersey, to New Orleans. On board: 46 passengers and six crew members.
Then, according to air traffic control audio, one passenger changes into all black.
He reportedly claims there's a bomb in his backpack.
And he makes a move toward the cockpit.
In the flight deck, the pilots do something most commercial pilots will never do in their entire careers. They squawk 7500, the emergency transponder code that tells air traffic control the plane is facing a possible hijacking.
"An Attempted Level 4"
As the situation unfolded, United sent messages to its other flights in the air. Those messages reported "an attempted Level 4," the airline industry's term for an attempted or actual breach of the flight deck. No other details were known at the time.
Inside the cabin, the crew got the situation under control. The passenger was moved to the back of the plane and kept there with flight attendants for the rest of the flight.
The cockpit was never breached.
Landing in New Orleans
The Boeing 737 MAX 9 landed safely at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport around 11:15 p.m. Instead of pulling up to a gate, it taxied to a remote part of the airfield, where law enforcement was waiting.
Deputies from the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office boarded and took the passenger into custody. About 30 minutes later, the other passengers and crew were bused to the main terminal. No one was hurt.
In a statement, United said the flight "landed safely following a disruptive incident involving a passenger onboard" and that law enforcement met the plane on arrival.
Who Is the Suspect?
The passenger has been identified as Rony Alexander Gomez-Alberto, 34, a Honduran national who had been living in the Bronx.
He was booked on charges of communicating false information of planned arson and terrorizing. He's being held without bail at the Jefferson Parish Correctional Center.
According to the Department of Homeland Security, Gomez-Alberto had been deported from the US twice before. DHS says Border Patrol caught him crossing illegally near El Indio, Texas, in 2011 and near Columbus, New Mexico, in 2014, and he was removed both times. He was arrested again in 2019 near San Ysidro, California, then released in January 2020 after an immigration judge ordered his release while his case was pending.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement has now placed a detainer on him, meaning federal immigration officials want him held for them once local charges are resolved.
Why "7500" Matters
Pilots have three emergency codes they can enter into their transponder. 7700 is a general emergency. 7600 means the radio has failed. 7500 means the aircraft is facing unlawful interference, such as a hijacking.
Entering 7500 instantly alerts air traffic control and sets off a major security response on the ground. It's the code pilots train for and hope they never use. On Monday night, the crew of Flight 2174 had to.
The Second United Scare in Two Weeks
This is the second time in just over two weeks that a United flight has dealt with a hijacking threat. In late October, Flight 1681 from Las Vegas to Newark turned back after a flight attendant spotted a passenger texting about hijacking the plane.
In both cases, the crew stayed calm, followed their training, and got everyone on the ground safely.
Forty-six passengers boarded a routine Monday night flight to New Orleans. Thanks to a crew that didn't panic, all of them walked off it.