United Flight Returns to Las Vegas After Hijacking Text Report

United Airlines Flight 1681 returned safely to Las Vegas on Saturday night after the captain reported that a flight attendant had seen a passenger texting about hijacking the aircraft. The Federal Aviation Administration said it would investigate the flight’s return. The Boeing 737 MAX 8 was traveling from Harry Reid International Airport to Newark Liberty International Airport with 150 passengers and six crew members, according to United. The airline said the aircraft returned to address a potential security concern. No injuries were reported. In air-traffic-control audio, the captain told controllers that a flight attendant had seen a passenger texting that he intended to hijack the aircraft. The captain also said the passenger did not know the crew had discovered the message. The reported text was described through the captain’s account of what the flight attendant observed; the text itself was not independently presented in the reports. The aircraft turned back shortly after takeoff and landed in Las Vegas late Saturday. Reports gave differing return times, so the precise landing time was not clear. The FAA said the flight returned safely. United did not publicly detail...