(Sightseers’ Delight) — The feds are investigating after a twice-deported Honduran national apparently declared he had a bomb in his backpack and attempted to breach the cockpit of a plane flying from Newark to New Orleans.
Federal authorities said Rony Alexander Gomez-Alberto, 34, was arrested after United Flight 2174 landed Monday night safely at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport. The Boeing 737 MAX 9 was traveling from Newark Liberty International Airport with 46 passengers and six crew members aboard.
Authorities said Gomez-Alberto began acting irrationally during the flight and allegedly told crew members he had a bomb. Reports indicated he claimed the bomb was in his backpack and attempted to breach the cockpit, prompting a hijacking alert.
Authorities booked Gomez-Alberto into the Jefferson Parish Correctional Center on charges of communicating false information about planned arson and terrorizing. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials lodged a detainer with the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office following his latest arrest.
The Federal Aviation Administration also plans to investigate the incident.
The Department of Homeland Security said Gomez-Alberto was apprehended after illegally entering the United States near El Indio, Texas, in 2011 and near Columbus, New Mexico, in 2014. The feds said he was removed from the country after both encounters.
Border Patrol arrested him again following an attempted illegal entry near San Ysidro, California, in 2019, according to DHS. DHS said ICE released Gomez-Alberto in January 2020 after an immigration judge ordered his release pending removal proceedings.
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