Crime & JusticeBreakingUpdated 2 hr ago

United flight returns to Las Vegas after crew reports passenger texting about hijacking

Coverage spectrum

Covered by 4 outlets, mostly right-leaning (75%).

4 articles in total. The spectrum counts each outlet once and leaves opinion out. How we measure bias

Image via The Daily WireHow images are chosen Report this image

Daily Wire, CBS News, New York Post and Fox News report that United Flight 1681 turned back to Las Vegas on Saturday night. The flight had left Harry Reid International Airport for Newark Liberty International Airport with 150 passengers and six crew. According to the pilots, as reported by CBS and the New York Post, a flight attendant saw a passenger texting that he planned to hijack the aircraft and alerted the pilots. The plane landed at about 11:05 p.m. Daily Wire reports that Las Vegas police arrested a 25-year-old passenger, Dante Milne, on charges of making threats. The Federal Aviation Administration said the crew reported a passenger disturbance. United Airlines said the flight was delayed overnight because the crew timed out, and that it departed for Newark on Sunday morning.

Headline and summary written by Mantle’s AI from the coverage below, under published rules. How this works

New to Mantle? It shows who is covering each story across the political spectrum, and highlights loaded words. How to read a storyHide the guide

The coverage spectrum counts the outlets covering a story at each of five points. A short or missing segment means that part of the spectrum is mostly quiet.

Governor Loaded verb“slams”It adds drama to what was said. The governor criticized the lawmakers; “slams” makes it sound like a fight.More neutral: criticizes lawmakers over budget delay

Highlights mark words that carry a judgement. Tap one to see why, and what a neutral writer would say. Here it is “criticizes”.

The 5-point spectrum

Far Left
Voices that strongly advocate for progressive policies and systemic change.
Left
Mainstream liberal perspectives focusing on social equality and regulation.
Center
Sources that prioritize neutral reporting and balanced viewpoints.
Right
Mainstream conservative perspectives focusing on market freedom and tradition.
Far Right
Voices that strongly advocate for conservative values and limited government.

How we measure bias

What happened

Key points

Each point shows who reports it, from Far Left to Far Right.

United Flight 1681 left Las Vegas for Newark on Saturday night with 150 passengers and six crew.
One side only: the rightReported byRight1Far Right2See the outletsHide the outlets
Right
New York Post
Far Right
The Daily Wire, Fox News
According to the pilots, a flight attendant saw a passenger texting that he planned to hijack the plane, and the flight turned back.
Reported byLeft1Right1Far Right2See the outletsHide the outlets
Left
CBS News
Right
New York Post
Far Right
The Daily Wire, Fox News
The plane landed back in Las Vegas at about 11:05 p.m. Saturday.
One side only: the rightReported byRight1Far Right2See the outletsHide the outlets
Right
New York Post
Far Right
The Daily Wire, Fox News
Las Vegas police said they arrested a 25-year-old passenger on charges of making threats.
One outletThe Daily Wire· Far Right
The FAA said the crew reported a passenger disturbance.
One outletNew York Post· Right
United Airlines said the flight was delayed overnight because the crew timed out and departed for Newark on Sunday morning.
One outletFox News· Far Right

What is contested

Where accounts differ

Points the coverage does not agree on, and who says what.

The passenger threatened to hijack the plane.
CBS, the New York Post and Fox report the pilots’ account of the hijacking text. The FAA’s statement describes only a passenger disturbance, and United Airlines cites a potential security concern.

How each side tells it

Compare views

All sides report that a United flight from Las Vegas to Newark turned back after a flight attendant saw a passenger texting about hijacking, and returned to Las Vegas. Right-side outlets add the passenger’s arrest and the overnight delay, using more alarming headlines, while the lone left-side outlet gives the diversion without them.

the left
1 outlet
The only left-side coverage in this sample, from CBS News, uses a plain headline that reports the diversion and the attendant’s spotting of the texting, without labels.
United flight diverted after flight attendant spots passenger texting about hijacking
CBS NewsLeftAll left-leaning headlines
the center
No coverage yet
No center outlet that Mantle follows has covered this story yet. That absence is part of the picture.
the right
3 outlets
Right-side headlines lead with the threat and its drama; the Far Right Daily Wire labels the passenger a suspected terrorist, while Fox leads with the overnight delay.
Dehumanizing label“Suspected Terrorist”The headline labels the passenger a terrorist, while the description reports only threats alleged by authorities and an arrest on charges of making threats.More neutral: Man arrested after flight attendant spots hijacking text on passenger’s phoneDisagree with this highlight? Arrested After United Flight Attendant Spots Hijacking Text On Passenger’s Phone
The Daily WireFar RightAll right-leaning headlines

The words they chose

Language to notice

Words that carry a judgement beyond the facts. Tap a highlighted word anywhere on the page to see why.

Left0
No loaded words in its own voice.
Center
Has not covered this story.
Right2
Suspected Terroristhorrifying text

In the outlets’ own words

Dehumanizing label
Suspected TerroristMore neutral: Man arrested after flight attendant spots hijacking text on passenger’s phone
The headline labels the passenger a terrorist, while the description reports only threats alleged by authorities and an arrest on charges of making threats.
Suspected Terrorist Arrested After United Flight Attendant Spots Hijacking Text On Passenger’s…
Used byThe Daily Wire (Far Right)
Sensational language
horrifying textMore neutral: text about taking control of the plane
The headline calls the text horrifying, a judgement that the reader is asked to share before the content is described.
United flight forced to turn around midair after crew member spotted horrifying text on passenger’s phone
Used byNew York Post (Right)

See the full language guide

See for yourself

Side by side

What each side leads with and what it leaves out. Open a side to read its headlines.

From the left

1 outlet

Leads with

flight attendant spotting texting
pilots’ account of the diversion
emergency landing in Las Vegas

See the headline from the leftHide the headlines

CBS NewsLeft
United flight diverted after flight attendant spots passenger texting about hijacking
A United flight made an emergency landing in Las Vegas over the weekend after the pilot told air traffic controllers a flight attendant saw a passenger texting that he planned to hijack the aircraft. Kris Van Cleave has more.
6 hr agoRead at CBS News (opens in a new tab)

From the center

0 outlets

No center outlet that Mantle follows has covered this story yet. That absence is part of the picture.

From the right

3 outlets

Leads with

suspected terrorist arrest
hijacking text and the crew alert
overnight delay for passengers

Leaves out

the overnight delay of the passengers

Reported by other sides, not found in this side’s coverage.

See the 3 headlines from the rightHide the headlines

Fox NewsFar Right
Major airline delays 150 passengers overnight following serious in-flight threat
United Flight 1681 made a swift U-turn back to Las Vegas after the crew flagged a potential security concern, triggering an overnight crew timeout, the airline confirmed.
2 hr agoRead at Fox News (opens in a new tab)
New York PostRight
United flight forced to turn around midair after crew member spotted Sensational language“horrifying text”The headline calls the text horrifying, a judgement that the reader is asked to share before the content is described.More neutral: text about taking control of the planeDisagree with this highlight? on passenger’s phone
A United Airlines flight heading to New Jersey returned to Las Vegas following an apparent hijacking threat Saturday.
4 hr agoRead at New York Post (opens in a new tab)
The Daily WireFar Right
Dehumanizing label“Suspected Terrorist”The headline labels the passenger a terrorist, while the description reports only threats alleged by authorities and an arrest on charges of making threats.More neutral: Man arrested after flight attendant spots hijacking text on passenger’s phoneDisagree with this highlight? Arrested After United Flight Attendant Spots Hijacking Text On Passenger’s Phone
A United Airlines flight turned around midair after a 25-year-old man made terroristic threats on his phone, according to authorities. United Flight 1681 took off Saturday night carrying 150 passengers and six crew members from Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas, …
7 hr agoRead at The Daily Wire (opens in a new tab)

Articles you open from here build My Mix, a private picture of how your reading spreads across the spectrum, kept on this device. What is My Mix?

The left is Far Left and Left together. The right is Right and Far Right together. Every outlet keeps its own five-point rating.

Who reported it when

How the coverage built up

Left
55 min later
Its first report, Oct 26, 9:45 AM EDT
Center
No report yet
From the outlets Mantle follows
Right
First to report
The Daily Wire, Oct 26, 8:50 AM EDT

See the order the outlets reported inHide the order

The Daily WireFar RightOct 26, 8:50 AM EDT
CBS NewsLeftOct 26, 9:45 AM EDT
New York PostRightOct 26, 11:22 AM EDT
Fox NewsFar RightOct 26, 1:55 PM EDT

Times are the ones the outlets published in their own feeds, in Eastern time. Opinion is left out.

United flight returns to Las Vegas after crew reports passenger texting about hijacking

Coverage spectrum

Key points

Where accounts differ

Compare views

the left

the center

the right

Language to notice

In the outlets’ own words

Side by side

From the left

United flight diverted after flight attendant spots passenger texting about hijacking

From the center

From the right

Major airline delays 150 passengers overnight following serious in-flight threat

How the coverage built up

Read next

House Democrats release report calling for special counsel on Trump’s Epstein ties

Police arrest 15-year-old in shooting near Florida A&M stadium

Judge rules Trump administration unlawfully fired Maurene Comey as federal prosecutor

Anthropic files IPO papers with SEC for first public share sale

Man arrested over alleged sledgehammer damage to Iwo Jima statue at Quantico