Plane returns to airport after bomb threat found

ROCHESTER, New York (CNN) -- A pilot steered a regional jet back to the airport here shortly after takeoff Thursday when a passenger found a bomb threat scrawled on a window shade inside the plane, officials said.

THE SYSTEM Airport security: A system driven by the minimum wage PREVIOUS WARNINGS Warnings over airport security preceded attacks COMPARING U.S. TO EUROPE Outside the U.S., a different approach to air security SOLUTIONS Boosting security puts focus on government's role  GRAPHS & CHARTS  • Top 25 Airports  • Airport Security by Year  • Airline Security by Year  • Airport Wages

Atlantic Coast Flight 7229, part of United Airlines' regional service, left Greater Rochester International Airport bound for Washington-Dulles International Airport at 3:15 p.m. ET, said Terry Slaybaugh, the airport's manager.

The plane, carrying 50 passengers and four crew members, returned almost immediately after a passenger found the handwritten message "referring to a bomb," said Rick DiLisi, a spokesman for Atlantic Coast.

"It was serious enough the pilot felt he should come back," Slaybaugh told CNN. "It was a precautionary move on the part of the pilot, but like everything else since September 11 it's going to be thoroughly investigated before it's dismissed."

Authorities directed the aircraft's passengers to the airport's international concourse, where members of the Monroe County Sheriff's Department and FBI officials questioned them. No passengers were detained after the questioning, DiLisi said.

After a thorough search of the plane, the aircraft left Rochester for Dulles around 7 p.m. ET, DiLisi said.

The plane is a CRJ model manufactured by Bombardier Aerospace, a Canadian company.