He Was Deported TWICE—Then Allegedly Tried To Storm A Cockpit!
A United Airlines flight was thrown into absolute terror after a passenger allegedly announced that he had a bomb and attempted to force his way into the cockpit.
The suspect had reportedly already been deported from the United States twice.
United Flight 2174 was travelling from Newark to New Orleans when Rony Alexander Gomez-Alberto allegedly threatened to blow up the aircraft and attempted to gain entry to the cockpit. The pilots reportedly transmitted a hijacking alert as the situation unfolded at 30,000 feet.
The Boeing 737 MAX 9 was carrying 46 passengers and six crew members.
The aircraft ultimately landed safely at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport, where law enforcement boarded the plane and arrested Gomez-Alberto. He was booked on allegations including communicating false information of planned arson and terrorizing, while DHS separately referenced bomb-threat, terroristic-threat and disorderly-conduct offenses.
Then came the immigration history.
DHS says Gomez-Alberto entered the United States illegally near El Indio, Texas, in 2011 and was removed. He allegedly returned through New Mexico in 2014 and was deported again.
Border Patrol then apprehended him during another attempted illegal entry near San Ysidro, California, in 2019.
According to DHS, an immigration judge subsequently ordered his release pending removal proceedings in January 2020.
ICE has now lodged a detainer following his latest arrest.
Passengers were placed in an unimaginable situation because a man who had allegedly entered the country repeatedly, been removed twice and arrested during another attempted crossing was somehow back aboard a domestic flight where he is now accused of threatening a bomb and attempting to reach the cockpit.
We break down the terrifying midair incident, the hijacking alert, the suspect’s immigration history and the enormous questions surrounding how this was allowed to happen.
