> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.thecontrail.org/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Man Arrested After United Pilots Sent the Hijack Code Over a Bomb Threat - URL: https://www.thecontrail.org/united-flight-2174-7500-newark-new-orleans/ - Published: 2026-11-10T15:52:43.000Z - Updated: 2026-11-11T03:23:27.000Z - Description: A 34-year-old man was arrested after allegedly telling the crew of United 2174 from Newark to New Orleans he had a bomb. What 7500 and a "Level 4" threat mean. - Author: Zach Benitez - Tags: News, Breaking News, United United flight 2174 from Newark to New Orleans squawked 7500, the code pilots use to tell air traffic control a plane is being hijacked, after a passenger allegedly tried to force his way into the cockpit on Monday night. According to flight tracking and early reports, the man claimed he had a bomb in his backpack. The Boeing 737 MAX 9 landed safely in New Orleans at 11:07 p.m. local time, and police met it at the gate. United confirmed the flight "landed safely following a disruptive incident involving a passenger on board," and said law enforcement met the plane when it arrived. There were 46 passengers and six crew members on board. Deputies later arrested Rony Alexander Gomez-Alberto, 34, and booked him on charges of communicating false information of planned arson and terrorizing, which means investigators are treating the bomb claim as false. --- ## Latest Updates **Tuesday, Nov. 10, 10:30 p.m. ET:** The Department of Homeland Security has identified the passenger as Rony Alexander Gomez-Alberto, a Honduran national. DHS says he entered the US illegally and was removed in 2011 and 2014, was arrested again by Border Patrol in 2019 and was released in January 2020 while his immigration case was pending. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has asked the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office to hold him for federal immigration authorities. He's being held on charges of communicating false information of planned arson and terrorizing, according to the sheriff's office. **Tuesday, Nov. 10, 10:55 a.m. ET:** The Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office says deputies arrested a 34-year-old man without incident after the flight landed and booked him on charges of communicating false information of planned arson and terrorizing. Deputies said he reportedly told crew members he had a bomb on board. Passengers were taken off the plane and brought to the terminal. The sheriff's office hasn't released his name. Explainer ยท Cockpit emergencies The Codes Pilots Use When Something Goes Wrong 7500 Hijacking or "unlawful interference" 7600 Radio has failed 7700 General emergency **Level 1**Disruptive passenger who won't follow crew instructions **Level 2**Physically abusive behavior **Level 3**Life-threatening behavior **Level 4**Attempted or actual breach of the cockpit Graphic: ContrailContrail ## Know Before You Fly Breaking flight news and what it means for your trip, sent free. Get Contrail Free Email sent! Check your inbox to complete your signup. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime. --- ## What Happened on United 2174 The flight left Newark at about 9:27 p.m. ET for what should have been a routine evening hop to New Orleans. At some point during the flight, a male passenger reportedly went for the cockpit door. The pilots selected 7500 on the plane's transponder, the little box that broadcasts a plane's identity to radar, while descending through roughly 20,000 feet on the way in. The crew also reported an "attempted level four" in a message sent through ACARS, the text messaging system planes use to talk to their airline on the ground. By the time the plane reached the gate, the passenger was reportedly sitting at the back of the cabin with flight attendants, which suggests the crew had him under control well before landing. Everyone on board got off safely. --- ## What 7500 and "Level 4" Mean Every plane flies with a four-digit code that shows up on air traffic control's radar. Three codes are reserved for emergencies: 7700 is a general emergency, 7600 means the radio has failed and 7500 means "unlawful interference," which is aviation-speak for a hijacking or an attempt at one. It's the rarest of the three, and the moment it pops up on a controller's screen, the plane gets priority handling and authorities start getting ready on the ground. "Level 4" comes from the threat scale airlines and the FAA use for problems in the cabin. Level 1 is a disruptive passenger, like someone who won't follow crew instructions. Level 2 is physical abuse, Level 3 is a life-threatening situation, and Level 4 is the top of the scale: an attempted or actual breach of the cockpit. In other words, it's the call crews hope they never have to make. --- ## Why the Cockpit Door Matters Since 9/11, cockpit doors on US airliners have been reinforced and locked from the inside during flight, and pilots are trained never to open them during a disturbance. That's why a passenger trying to get into the cockpit almost always ends up where this one reportedly did, sitting at the back of the plane surrounded by crew and other passengers rather than anywhere near the controls. As a United regular, I hope stories like this stay rare, and they mostly do. But this has been a rough fall for unruly passengers, from [United's string of lewd-passenger reports](https://www.thecontrail.org/united-flight-516-indecent-exposure/) to a [handwritten hijack note that turned an IndiGo flight around](https://www.thecontrail.org/indigo-hijack-note-bengaluru-lucknow/). The good news in every one of them is the same: the crew, the door and the system worked. --- ## What Happens Next A passenger who tries to break into a cockpit on a US flight can face federal charges for interfering with a flight crew, and a bomb threat on top of that can add more. The FBI typically investigates incidents like this once a plane lands. If United, the FBI or New Orleans airport police release more details about the passenger or the bomb claim, I'll add them here.