WASHINGTON (Reuters) - An American Airlines flight was diverted to New York early on Thursday after the crew reported a suspicious passenger in what the U.S. homeland security chief later said may have been a misunderstanding.
The Transportation Security Administration said American Flight 136 from Los Angeles to London made an emergency landing at JFK Airport around 4 a.m. (9 a.m British time).
The decision to divert was made after a flight attendant became suspicious about the behaviour of one of the passengers, the airline said in a statement.
American Airlines said the passenger has been handed over to the FBI. It offered no further details.
Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff told CNN he had received a report the man in question was an employee who was travelling in a private capacity.
"It may very well turn out that this is nothing more than a misunderstanding with an employee who used an employee bus to get on a plane for a private flight," Chertoff said.
CNN said security agents boarded the plane and took a man off. The network said the pilot initially told passengers the plane did not have enough gas.
The Boeing 777-200 was carrying 218 passengers and 14 crew members, according to the airline statement.
FAA diagram for John F. Kennedy International Airport.
An American Airlines plane, Flight 136 carrying 230 passengers was traveling from Los Angeles, California to London, England when it was diverted to John F. Kennedy International Airport due to a suspicious passenger.

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) states that "the flight crew alerted security to a suspicious person on board" and the plane was then diverted to JFK Airport while it was still en route to London. The plane made an emergency landing at 4:00 a.m. (eastern time).

The man was traveling alone, and was taken into custody after the plane landed safely. Reports also say that the unnamed individual was riding an employee bus, then boarded the plane, but does not have proper identification which says he works for the airline.

"It may very well turn out that this is nothing more than a misunderstanding with an employee who used an employee bus to get on a plane for a private flight," said Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff.

The man boarded the plane without proceeding through security screenings, but Chertoff states that the Middle Eastern man had purchased a round trip ticket for the flight.

"The individual in question was, in fact, an employee who was traveling in a private capacity," added Chertoff.

Andrea McCauley, a spokeswoman for the TSA says the flight has been canceled, and all passengers were being checked, along with the plane, but authorities did not find anything suspicious. 

Passengers were told that the plane had run out of fuel and are being reassigned to different flights.