Passenger accused of threatening to hijack a Las Vegas-to-Newark United flight tells investigators his text was a drunken joke

From the Newshound archive · first published 26 October 2026 · last updated 28 October 2026.

Dante Milne, 25, a trainee underwater welder from Wood-Ridge, New Jersey, told investigators he had downed a beer and several shots at the airport bar before boarding United Flight 1681 on Saturday, then fell asleep — only to wake up and find the Boeing 737 already heading back to Las Vegas. A flight attendant spotted him typing 'I'm gonna hijack this b---- and crash ur row only' on his phone just 13 minutes into the flight and silently alerted the captain, who secured the cockpit and diverted without Milne knowing anything was wrong.

Milne claimed the message was 'banter between coworkers', saying he never intended to take over the plane and apologised for how things unfolded.

All 150 passengers were evacuated on landing, the plane was inspected, and the 149 remaining passengers were forced to wait overnight before flying to Newark on Sunday morning.

Milne has been charged with a felony count of making threats or conveying false information concerning an act of terrorism and has since bailed out of Clark County Jail.