A United Airlines passenger accused of sending a hijack threat mid-flight told investigators he was drunk and joking with a friend when he wrote the message, according to an arrest report.
Dante Milne, 25, was arrested Saturday after Flight 1681 from Las Vegas to Newark turned around just 15 minutes after takeoff. The Boeing 737, carrying 150 passengers and six crew members, returned to Harry Reid International Airport at 11:05 p.m. Following a security scare.
The Wood-Ridge, New Jersey native had been on his way home from a three-day underwater welding apprenticeship program in Las Vegas, he told detectives. Before boarding, Milne said he downed a beer and some shots at an airport bar.
The incident began when a flight attendant allegedly spotted Milne typing on his phone. The crew member reported seeing a message that read, “I’m gonna hijack this bitch and crash ur row only,” according to the criminal complaint. The flight attendant alerted the captain, prompting a lockdown and the decision to return to Las Vegas.
Milne was not confronted during the brief flight. Las Vegas Metropolitan Police arrested him on the tarmac after the plane landed. All passengers were evacuated and the aircraft was inspected; no one was injured.
Initially, Milne told investigators he had texted someone on the flight but could not recall what the messages were about, the arrest report said. When specifically questioned about the hijack comment, he offered a different explanation.
“I’m gonna hijack this bitch and crash ur row only,” the complaint quoted the text. Milne claimed the message was poorly worded “banter between coworkers,” according to the arrest report.
He maintained he never intended to take over the plane and expressed regret about the outcome, the report said. Milne, a trainee welder, fell asleep after sending the text and only discovered the plane was heading back to Vegas when he woke up minutes after takeoff, Fox 5 Vegas reported, citing his arrest report.
Milne was charged with one count of making threats or conveying false information concerning an act of terrorism. He was released from the Clark County Detention Center on $10,000 bail.
His attorney, James Gallo, informed a judge Tuesday that Milne planned to plead not guilty, News 3 LV reported. Milne is scheduled to appear in court on Jan. 5.
The flight attendant’s quick report to the captain triggered standard security protocols for potential in-flight threats. Airlines and federal authorities routinely treat all such messages as serious regardless of stated intent, and passengers have faced felony charges for similar jokes in the past.
Milne and Gallo did not respond to requests for comment.
