Washington, Sept. 11 (AP): US authorities diverted a San Francisco-bound United Airlines jet to Dallas as a precautionary security measure today after finding an unclaimed BlackBerry hand-held computer on board.

Officials had also found and removed an unidentified backpack from the jet before it left Atlanta, Transportation Security Administration (TSA) spokeswoman Yolanda Clark said.

TSA officials said passengers of United flight 351 and their carry-on items received additional screening at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport and nothing was found to be amiss. Authorities also used a police dog to search the plane’s cabin.

United spokeswoman Robin Urbanski said 50 people were aboard the Airbus 319. After being screened again, the passengers were scheduled to reboard and resume their flight to San Francisco. The backpack belonged to a woman who had been a passenger on an earlier flight on the same jet, Urbanski said.

Clark said United flight 351 was diverted to Dallas “out of an “abundance of caution”.