A twice-deported Honduran national was arrested on Monday after allegedly trying to storm the cockpit of a United Airlines flight and threatening that he had a bomb.
Rony Alexander Gomez-Alberto, 34, was taken into custody by the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office after United Airlines Flight 2174 landed safely at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport. The Boeing 737 MAX 9 was carrying 46 passengers and six crew members from Newark, New Jersey, when the midair disturbance occurred.
According to local authorities, Gomez-Alberto changed into all black before he started trying to reach the cockpit. The pilots issued a reported hijacking alert while flight crew members convinced the passenger to head to the rear of the aircraft, where he was detained until landing.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement lodged a detainer for Gomez-Alberto on Tuesday, November 10, 2026, with the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office, according to DHS. He was booked on charges of communicating false information of planned arson and terrorizing, while DHS records listed bomb threat, terroristic threat, and disorderly conduct offenses.
Gomez-Alberto Faced Multiple Border Crossings and Removals
Federal immigration records show a history of unauthorized border crossings and subsequent removals involving the suspect. Border Patrol apprehended Gomez-Alberto after an illegal entry near El Indio, Texas, in September 2011 and again near Columbus, New Mexico, in October 2014. He was removed from the country following both encounters.
Border Patrol arrested him again after an attempted illegal entry near San Ysidro, California, in 2019. In January 2020, an immigration judge ordered Gomez-Alberto released from ICE custody pending removal proceedings, according to DHS. At the time of the November 2026 flight incident, he was living in the Bronx, the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office told NOLA.com.
“Under President Trump and Secretary Mullin, criminal illegal aliens are NOT welcome in the United States,” a DHS spokesperson said in a statement.
United Airlines confirmed the incident in a statement, noting that law enforcement met the aircraft upon arrival in New Orleans. The Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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