News 595K views since yesterday

"If there's any doubt, there's no doubt": Topgun veteran backs United crew over hijack text

Fox News plays the pilot's radio call from the diverted Las Vegas-Newark flight and asks retired Navy pilot Matthew "Whiz" Buckley how the crew handled it.

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Fox News Story of October 28, 2026Trari Newsroom

Why this story? One of Fox News's most watched videos since yesterday, with 594,812 views.

DETAILS: United flight LOCKED DOWN, DIVERTED after passenger's hijacking text

Things we can learn from the video

Press to jump

0:00A United flight from Las Vegas to Newark turns back after a flight attendant sees a passenger's hijacking text.
0:50Buckley says he has not seen a similar case in forty years of aviation and praises the crew.
1:29Cockpit audio: the pilot tells air traffic control about the threat and how the crew is handling the passenger.
2:08Buckley explains why his family never says "Hi, Jack" in airport security lines.
2:35The anchor reads the FAA's statement on the diverted flight.
2:56Buckley outlines flight attendants' duties and says the people who received the texts will also be interviewed.

A United Airlines flight from Las Vegas to Newark turned back to Las Vegas after a flight attendant saw a passenger texting about hijacking the plane, Fox News reports. Its segment goes beyond the first reports with two additions: the cockpit's own radio call and an assessment from someone who has spent a career in the air.

In the recording, the pilot tells air traffic control what happened: "The flight attendant saw him texting that he was going to hijack the aircraft." The pilot then describes the crew's approach to the passenger: "So no restraint, passenger is compliant because he's unaware."

Matthew "Whiz" Buckley, a retired Navy Topgun fighter pilot and former commercial airline pilot, tells the anchor that he has never seen anything like it in forty years of aviation. He praises the flight attendant and the captain for acting on what they saw. "If there's any doubt, there's no doubt," he says.

Buckley also says the investigation will not stop with the passenger, because the people who received the texts will be interviewed too. "The feds don't take this stuff lightly," he says. He adds a family rule he keeps in airport security lines: nobody says "Hi, Jack."

The anchor also reads the FAA's statement on the diverted flight. Within nine hours, the segment had nearly 600,000 views. In the comments, many viewers question how a flight attendant could read a phone screen while passing down the aisle. Others are making their own jokes about "Hi, Jack."

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