The plane turned back 10 minutes after take-off. The reason is a disturbing text message from a passenger

Alarm on board a United Airlines plane

The incident took place on Saturday, October 24. The United Airlines flight took off from Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas and was scheduled to arrive in Newark, New Jersey.

Flightradar24 data shows that the plane turned around about 10 minutes after takeoff as it flew over Arizona. There were 157 passengers on board.

Eight recordings of conversations with air traffic control obtained by the American website CBS News show that the plane turned back due to a suspected terrorist threat.

The passenger is unaware of what is happening. The stewardess saw him texting that he was going to hijack the plane, the pilot said in a conversation with an air traffic controller.

We implemented safety procedures and returned to Las Vegas. We didn't have to use any coercive measures. The passenger is cooperating because he is not aware of the situation, the pilot said, according to the recording.

The controller replied: Perfect. I'm glad, thank you.

The pilot explained why the landing took longer

Returning to Las Vegas required proper preparation of the machine for landing. The pilot advised air traffic control that the crew could not immediately begin landing at Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas. The plane had to first use up some fuel to reduce its weight.

Sorry it took so long, but the plane is much heavier than it should be when landing. We are trying to burn excess fuel, the pilot explained.

When the plane landed, officers were already waiting for the passenger.

The 25-year-old was arrested

On Monday, the Las Vegas Police Department announced the arrest of a passenger. The person in question is 25-year-old Dante Milne from Clifton, New Jersey.

The man was detained at Harry Reid International Airport and charged with making criminal threats or providing false information regarding an act of terrorism.

United Airlines confirmed the plane returned safely to Las Vegas on Sunday. As reported, the decision to turn the machine around was dictated by "safety reasons". The case is still under investigation.