The Smart Marty Sky Dispatch
Dispatch audio reveals how responders handled the United flight incident
The plane was emptied after landing and dispatch audio captured negotiators K 9 prep and head counts during the response
A United Airlines flight from Newark landed safely at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport just before midnight on Monday, with more than two dozen people on board including six crew members.
Dispatch audio provided by Broadcastify captures first responders coordinating the response after a passenger allegedly claimed there was a bomb on board. The Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office later confirmed 46 passengers were aboard the flight.
Passengers were taken off the aircraft and transported to the terminal on a bus, with responders estimating 45 passengers in the group on the bus in the audio.
The audio also shows responders discussing negotiations and the involvement of a K-9 team prepared to search the aircraft, as well as a note that the plane’s back door had been breached and authorities were attempting to get the suspect to come down.
The suspect, 34-year-old Rony Gomez-Alberto, was arrested without incident and booked on charges of communicating false information of planned arson and terrorizing. He is also wanted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
The FBI stated that the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Louisiana will decide whether to pursue federal charges.