Delta plane evacuated after possible threat

DENVER - A Delta Air Lines flight that took off from Denver International Airport returned to the airport and its passengers were evacuated Monday evening after a suspicious note was discovered on board. <br> <br> Flight 1642, bound for Salt Lake City with 56 passengers and a crew of six, took off from the airport at about 6:30 p.m. and returned about an hour later, said Delta Air Lines spokeswoman Catherine Stengel. <br> <br> ``The pilot returned to Denver as a precautionary measure,&#39;&#39; she said. <br> <br> The Boeing 737-800 was searched and was scheduled to take off again at about 10:30 p.m. with passengers aboard, but the flight was canceled because of crew requirements, according to the airline. The next flight to Salt Lake City was at 6 a.m. Tuesday. <br> <br> Stengel would not give details about the note. <br> <br> Passengers said the pilot had announced that a note containing a bomb threat had been found. <br> <br> ``If it was a huge enough threat to turn around, I thought it could be real,&#39;&#39; said passenger Edie Ferguson, a former flight attendant. ``I was pretty nervous at that point.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> Passenger Felix Marggraff, of Germany, said after the threat was announced, a passenger identified himself as a U.S. Marshall. ``You saw the marshall and it gave everyone the feeling that it was serious,&#39;&#39; he said. <br> <br> When the plane landed, it was met on the tarmac by ambulances, military personnel and police. Passengers said they were screened with a metal-detecting wand and bomb-sniffing dogs as they exited the plane. <br> <br> Airport spokesman Chuck Cannon said passengers were re-screened at concourse C of the airport. He said the aircraft remained on the taxiway and did not affect other flight operations. <br> <br> Passengers said the incident was particularly alarming because of heightened security concerns in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and in advance of the winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City, which begin this week. <br> <br> Tyson Feaster, who was returning to Salt Lake City from a business trip in Denver, said he was eager to get home. ``They&#39;ve checked it (the plane) over and I want to see my wife,&#39;&#39; he said. <br> <br> Francis Bonpard, of France, said Sept. 11 was on the mind of passengers. ``Everybody&#39;s concerned about that. When you&#39;re in the plane and they tell you there is a bomb alarm you are scared,&#39;&#39; he said.

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