Caller threatens United flight would explode unless Reagan National Airport air traffic controllers pay $500K in crypto

A caller allegedly threatened that a United Airlines flight would explode upon landing at Virginia’s Reagan Washington National Airport Tuesday morning — unless air traffic controllers forked over $500,000 in crypto.

All flights were grounded at the busy hub after the apparent bomb threat for United Flight 512, which had just touched down from Houston, law enforcement sources told The Post.

The plane landed around 11:30 a.m. and was diverted to “an adjacent runway away from the terminal in response to a security threat,” officials with the airport explained in an X update.

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All 89 passengers were quickly offloaded as emergency vehicles swarmed the runway just outside Washington, DC. 

Flights resumed around 90 minutes later, according to the airport.

The exact nature of the threat wasn’t immediately clear.

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However, someone allegedly called Reagan’s air traffic control tower demanding $500,000 in cryptocurrency, sources later told The Washington Post. 

The caller insisted that the United flight would explode upon landing if they weren’t paid. 

A radio recording uploaded to LiveATC.net featured the confounded air traffic controller relaying the threat to the United flight’s pilots. 

“I’m sorry to have to do this to you. We’ve got to turn you, again. We have an unconfirmed bomb report for your flight, we got to get you away from the airport,” the traffic controller said.

“I mean, I can confirm someone called. Someone called and said there was a bomb on [United flight] 512, they said if it landed, it would explode — well, it landed,” they continued.

The FBI assured in a separate statement that “no hazards” were found on site. 

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The Federal Aviation Administration only described the incident as a “security issue.”

“The FAA is aware of a reported security issue on an aircraft at Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA),” the agency said in a statement.

“Passengers have been removed and the aircraft is away from the terminal while authorities investigate.”
The ground stop was lifted just before 1 p.m. and flights were slowly resuming.

During the closure, several other flights were diverted to nearby airports, so officials warned that anyone meeting passengers or planning on flying this afternoon should anticipate delays.

The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority police, FBI Washington Field Office, and “multiple [other] law enforcement partners” are investigating the alleged threat, according to the airport.