A twice-deported illegal immigrant who was freed in 2020 by an immigration judge pending his third removal proceeding tried to enter the cockpit of an airplane bound for New Orleans, federal authorities said.
Rony Alexander Gomez-Alberto, a 34-year-old Honduran national who illegally entered the country in 2011, 2014 and 2019, was arrested early Tuesday, Nov. 10 by the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office after the plane landed in New Orleans.
TERRIFYING MIDAIR SCARE: A twice-deported illegal immigrant allegedly claimed to have a bomb and tried to storm the cockpit of United Flight from Newark to New Orleans, triggering an in-flight hijacking alert.
Authorities say Honduran national Rony Alexander… pic.twitter.com/4CKyTxMm0v
— FOX & Friends (@foxandfriends) November 11, 2026
Crew members on board United Airlines Flight 2174 reported that Gomez-Alberto began acting irrationally around 11:20 p.m. Monday and changed into all black clothing. He also claimed he had a bomb on board and tried to approach or storm the cockpit, authorities said.
On Tuesday, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement lodged a detainer against Gomez-Alberto after his immigration status was confirmed. He had previously been deported from the United States twice, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security said.
“Americans should NEVER have to face threats like this, especially from an illegal alien who should never have been in our country in the first place,” ICE shared in a statement posted on X.
TWICE-DEPORTED ILLEGAL ALIEN ARRESTED AFTER ALLEGED BOMB THREAT
Rony Alexander Gomez-Alberto allegedly attempted to storm the cockpit of a United flight while claiming to have a bomb, prompting a hijack alert.
Americans should NEVER have to face threats like this, especially… https://t.co/0rekxhnJks
— U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (@ICEgov) November 11, 2026
Gomez-Alberto was initially arrested and booked on state charges for terrorizing and communicating false information of a planned arson, according to local reports citing the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office.
The United Airlines flight 2174 left at 9:27 p.m. Monday from Newark Liberty International Airport bound for Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport. The pilots sent out a hijacking alert at 11:42 p.m., authorities said.
Once the plane safely landed at 12:07 a.m. Tuesday, all passengers got off and were taken to the terminal. Gomez-Alberto was arrested without incident and taken to the Jefferson Parish Correctional Center, where he is being held without bond.
In a statement posted on X, DHS separately listed bomb threat, terroristic threat and disorderly conduct offenses, adding “Under President Trump and Secretary Mullin, criminal illegal aliens who try to HIJACK AIRPLANES are NOT welcome in the United States.”
On November 10, 2026, ICE lodged a detainer for Rony Alexander Gomez-Alberto, a criminal illegal alien from Honduras after he attempted to gain entry to the cockpit during a flight. His criminal history includes felony bomb threat, felony threat—terroristic state offenses, and… https://t.co/tRYBUaf3XY
— Homeland Security (@DHSgov) November 11, 2026
Officials said Gomez-Alberto’s most recent residence was in the Bronx, ABC7 Eyewitness News reported.
Despite being an illegal immigrant, Gomez-Alberto obtained the necessary identification to board a plane. Now his immigration history is raising serious questions.
U.S. Border Patrol arrested Gomez-Alberto in 2011 and again in 2014 for illegally crossing the border. He was deported both of those times and arrested five years later while illegally trying to reenter the country through California.
The suspect allegedly claimed to have a bomb during the flight. The pilots of the flight sent out a Level 4 threat, which is the highest threat alert, Fox News reported.
DHS later confirmed Gomez-Alberto was accused of attempting to enter the cockpit.
The plane carried 46 passengers and six crew members. Deputies from Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office, which historically cooperates with ICE, were on scene when the plane landed to take Gomez-Alberto into custody.
Fox News reported Gomez-Alberto spoke no English according to air traffic control audio recordings.
Retired FBI supervisory special agent James Gagliano appeared on Fox News’ “America’s Newsroom” to discuss the security breach and Gomez-Alberto’s immigration history.
Gagliano questioned how he was able to obtain a real ID and board an airplane. He said TSA has to do a better job of screening people. He called it a “travesty.”
“This individual played the system and played again, on our suicidal empathy, and very nearly caused a plane to go down or be hijacked in the air,” he said.
Gagliano also criticized the federal judge who let him out in 2020 after two prior deportations.
“My question is why do we even have criminal penalties for illegal reentry?” Gagliano said, adding illegal reentry is a felony with a two-year penalty in federal prison. “Why did that happen?”
According to DHS records, Gomez-Alberto illegally entered the United States near El Indio, Texas, in September 2011 and was removed. He illegally crossed the border again near Columbus, New Mexico, in October 2014, leading to his second deportation.
In 2019, Border Patrol arrested him again after an attempted illegal entry near San Ysidro, California.
In January 2020, an immigration judge ordered his release from ICE custody pending removal proceedings, according to DHS.
Gagliano said the FBI will do a thorough search of his background to figure out how he obtained a real ID and if he was working with other people or has possible terrorist ties.
“They’re certainly doing a white wash on all of that to go back and try to parse through, figure out how this guy got in again, got released and then what he did,” Gagliano said on “America’s Newsroom.” “Who did he talked to? Were there mental health issues? Was he part of a terror network. Was this a one-off?”
