A ContinentalAirlines jetliner flying from Newark, New Jersey, to Bogota, Colombia,was diverted to Jacksonville, Florida, on Friday over suspicion that apassenger was on the government's watch list of suspected terroristsbanned from commercial flights. It turned out to be a case of mistakenidentity.
The passenger — one of 75 on board — was cleared by theFBI at Jacksonville International Airport and permitted to continue onthe flight to Colombia, the Transportation Security Administration said.
Despiteits safe conclusion, the tense situation that arose from diverting apassenger jet after takeoff because of security fears was unlikely toease the anxiety of the American flying public after the Christmas Dayepisode in which a Nigerian passenger is accused of trying to explode abomb inside a plane from Amsterdam to Detroit, Michigan.