A United Airlines flight bound for Newark suddenly reversed course over the weekend after a flight attendant reportedly spotted a passenger sending a text message about hijacking the aircraft. United Airlines Flight 1681, a Boeing 737 carrying 150 passengers and six crew members, turned back to Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas late Saturday night to address what the airline called a potential security concern.
Pilot Alerted Air Traffic Control Mid-Flight
According to CBS News, the pilot told air traffic controllers that a flight attendant had seen a passenger texting that he planned to hijack the flight. The aircraft had only just crossed into Arizona airspace before looping back toward Las Vegas, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported, describing the episode as a passenger disturbance that prompted the plane to turn around shortly after takeoff.
Exactly when the flight departed and returned remains unclear. The Review-Journal reported the flight left Harry Reid at 10:37 p.m. Saturday and came back at 11:42 p.m., while Fox5 Vegas reported the plane departed around 10:30 p.m. and returned around 11:05 p.m. after the crew reported the disturbance, per the station's account. Neither outlet resolved the discrepancy.
Cockpit Locked Down as Crew Burned Off Fuel
Behind the scenes, the situation grew tense even as passengers may have remained unaware of what was unfolding. The passenger reportedly did not know the flight attendant had seen the message, and the pilots locked down the cockpit while relaying that detail to air traffic control, according to a report from aviation blog View From The Wing. The crew also requested several extra minutes before landing in order to get set up and burn off excess fuel, the same report noted.
United has not specified what the security concern actually involved. As USA Today reported, the airline did not detail the nature of the concern, though it confirmed no injuries were reported among the 150 passengers and six crew members aboard.
Flight Delayed Overnight, Passengers Rebooked
The Boeing 737 sat on the ground in Las Vegas overnight because of a crew timeout, a mandatory rest period for flight crews, before finally departing for Newark the following morning, the Review-Journal reported. According to NJ.com, passengers were rebooked onto a Sunday morning flight, and the aircraft eventually arrived at its intended destination in Newark on Sunday, as confirmed by Yahoo News.
United Airlines referred questions about the incident to Las Vegas police, according to NJ.com's reporting, and police did not provide immediate additional information. It remains unclear whether anyone was arrested in connection with the passenger disturbance, the Review-Journal reported.
A Broader Pattern of Unruly Passenger Incidents
The episode adds to a steady drumbeat of unruly passenger incidents that have drawn federal attention in recent years. The Federal Aviation Administration says incidents involving threatening or violent behavior by passengers remain an ongoing problem, and the agency maintains what it describes as a zero-tolerance policy toward unruly passenger behavior, according to the FAA.
