American Airlines Flight Diverted After Suspicious Item Found

CHICAGO (AP) -- An American Airlines jet flying from New York to Seattle was diverted to Chicago on Monday evening after a suspicious item was found on board, authorities said. It turned out to be a radio.

A passenger saw the item in one of the plane's restrooms and told a flight attendant, said Chicago Police spokesman David Banks. The police bomb and arson unit and the FBI determined it was ''an older-looking, Walkman-type radio,'' Banks said.

''It was a big to-do over nothing,'' Banks said. ''If it weren't so serious, it would be laughable.''

The 158 passengers and six crew members were evacuated after the plane landed at 8:30 p.m., said airlines spokeswoman Mary Frances Fagan. No one was hurt.

Flight 289 originated from New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport. The flight crew asked to land at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport so officials there could inspect something on the aircraft, said Chicago Aviation Department spokeswoman Kristen Cabanban.

After the plane was searched, Fagan said passengers returned to the aircraft and it took off for Seattle around 11:20 p.m.