Homeland Security told Fox News that the man accused of trying to force his way into a United Airlines cockpit on a Newark-to-New Orleans flight is a Honduran national who had been deported twice before being released by an immigration judge in 2020 while his removal case was pending.
What happened on the flight
The New York Post, citing United and the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office via local station FOX8, reported that United flight 2174 from Newark Liberty International Airport to Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport declared a “Level 4” hijack alert Monday night after an attempted cockpit breach. The Post said United confirmed the incident and that deputies met the aircraft on arrival. The Post also reported the man claimed to have a bomb. Air traffic control audio described the suspect being moved to the rear of the plane and restrained so the flight could land, according to the Post.
Arrest and charges reported
WVUE-TV identified the suspect as 34-year-old Rony Alexander Gomez-Alberto and reported he was booked into the Jefferson Parish Correctional Center on counts of communicating false information of planned arson and terrorizing. Separately, Fox News reported he faces felony bomb threat, terroristic threats, and disorderly conduct charges. Fox News also said he was being held without bond in Louisiana.
DHS account of immigration history
Fox News, citing the Department of Homeland Security, reported that Gomez-Alberto entered the United States illegally three times between 2011 and 2019. According to Fox News, he was arrested for illegal entry in Texas in 2011 and again in Columbus, New Mexico, in 2014, and was apprehended near San Ysidro, California, in 2019; an immigration judge ordered his release in January 2020 while removal proceedings were pending.
“On November 10, 2026, ICE lodged a detainer for Rony Alexander Gomez-Alberto, a criminal illegal alien from Honduras, with Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office after he attempted to gain entry to the cockpit during a flight,” a DHS spokesperson said, according to reports carried by Fox News.
What’s next
Fox News reported that Immigration and Customs Enforcement has placed a detainer on the suspect. Further details about federal or local charges and court proceedings had not been released in the reports cited above.
