United Flight Diverted after Unclaimed BlackBerry Found
Federal authorities diverted a San Francisco-bound United Airlines jet to Dallas as a precautionary security measure on Monday after finding an unclaimed BlackBerry on board.
Officials had also found and removed an unidentified backpack from the jet before it left Atlanta, said Transportation Security Administration spokeswoman Yolanda Clark. She described the jet, United flight 351, as secure and said it was diverted to Dallas "out of an abundance of caution."
"The aircraft is secure," Clark said. She said there was no indication that the hand-held computer was being used as an explosive device or trigger.
The flight was diverted on the fifth anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks. Authorities decided not to send military fighter aircraft to escort the jet, as is routine during an emergency, said Lt. Col. John Cornelio, a spokesman for U.S. Northern Command.
United spokeswoman Robin Urbanski said 50 people were aboard the Airbus 319. The passengers were being rescreened after getting off the plane in Dallas.
The backpack belonged to a woman who had been a passenger on an earlier flight on the same jet, Urbanski said.
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