Twice-deported Honduran man arrested after claiming he had a bomb, attempting to storm cockpit on flight to NOLA

 Federal immigration authorities have lodged a detainer against a 34-year-old Honduran national who was deported twice from the United States before purportedly claiming to have a bomb and attempting to storm the cockpit of a commercial flight bound for New Orleans (NOLA) earlier this week.

The suspect, identified by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) as Rony Alexander Gomez-Alberto, a current resident of the Bronx, New York, was arrested late Monday night after United Airlines Flight 2174 landed at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport.

According to authorities, the Boeing 737 MAX 9 had departed from Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey carrying 46 passengers and six crew members.

During the evening flight, Gomez-Alberto reportedly began acting erratically, told crew members that he had a bomb in his backpack, and rushed toward the flight deck. Flight attendants intervened and escorted him to the rear of the aircraft. In response to the attempted breach, the pilots issued a Level 4 threat alert — an aviation designation signaling an attempted or actual cockpit breach and potential hijacking.

Despite the midair disturbance, the flight crew managed to keep the situation largely contained, and the plane landed safely in New Orleans at approximately 11:15 p.m. local time without any reported injuries. Deputies with the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office met the aircraft upon arrival and took Gomez-Alberto into custody.

Gomez-Alberto was booked into the Jefferson Parish Correctional Center on state charges of terrorizing and communicating false information of planned arson. A judge set his bond at $500,000 for each of those two offenses, though he is also being held without bond on a fugitive charge.

In a separate statement, the DHS also noted offenses related to making a bomb threat, terroristic threats and disorderly conduct, confirming that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officially lodged an immigration detainer against him on Tuesday.

Records released by DHS detail a lengthy history of prior immigration violations involving Gomez-Alberto. U.S. Border Patrol agents first apprehended him in September 2011 after he illegally entered the country near El Indio, Texas, and again in October 2014 near Columbus, New Mexico. Federal authorities removed him from the United States following both arrests.

In 2019, Border Patrol agents arrested Gomez-Alberto a third time after he attempted to cross the border near San Ysidro, California. However, according to DHS, a liberal immigration judge ordered him to be released from ICE custody in January 2020 — pending the outcome of his removal proceedings.

Following the arrest, the Air Marshal National Council issued a public statement questioning DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin on whether Federal Air Marshals were aboard Flight 2174 and why Gomez-Alberto’s prior deportation history did not flag him during pre-flight security screening.

Both local law enforcement and federal authorities continue to investigate the circumstances surrounding the threat.