Photo: UNITED United Flight 1681, which departed from Las Vegas to Newark on Saturday, October 24, returned to its airport of departure due to a possible security concern, the airline confirmed in response to a request from PassportNews.
The Boeing 737 had 150 passengers and six crew members on board. According to the company's statement, the plane returned to Las Vegas and landed safely to allow the security concern to be addressed.
According to online reports based on a recording of the communication between the pilot and air traffic control, a flight attendant noticed a passenger who wrote in a text message that he was going to hijack the plane. According to reports, she informed the captain, the cockpit was locked and the crew decided to return to Las Vegas. In the recording cited in the reports, the pilot can be heard explaining that the passenger was unaware that the crew had noticed the message.
The US Federal Aviation Administration, the FAA, confirmed in its official statement that the flight returned safely to Harry Reed Airport in Las Vegas after the crew reported a disturbance from a passenger.
The authority announced that it would investigate the incident and contacted the airline and local authorities for additional details.
In response to a PassportNews inquiry, United said: "Flight 1681 from Las Vegas to Newark on Saturday, October 24, safely returned to Las Vegas to address a possible security concern."
After the return flight, the flight was delayed overnight due to the crew reaching their allowed work hours limit. United said the flight departed later for Newark.
The company did not elaborate in its response on what sparked the security concern or what the investigation into the incident revealed, and referred requests for additional information to law enforcement authorities.