Instead, he was held on outstanding, unrelated criminal charges and being questioned by the FBI, said Medford Police Lt. Mike Moran.

America West clerks at the Rogue Valley International-Medford Airport became suspicious and notified police after the man came to their desk asking about Flight 6262, which was on its way back to the airport because of the threat, Moran said.

The suspect was not immediately identified. Any federal charges would be determined by the U.S. Attorney's Office, Moran said.

The plane, an America West express shuttle operated by Mesa Airlines, returned to the airport around 3 p.m., after the threat was called into America West headquarters.

The plane had been in the air for just a few moments when a flight attendant took a call from the pilot, said passenger Barbara Tatom of El Paso, Texas.

"She just turned white," Tatom said of the flight attendant. "She hung up, set down and did the Catholic cross. I thought 'Oh my God, I think we're in trouble.' "

The pilot then came on told the passengers that the plane was turning around as a precautionary measure and would be on the ground in 10 minutes, Tatom said.

"That's all that was said; I didn't think of a bomb threat at all," she added.

After the plane landed, the 30 passengers were evacuated and a bomb squad searched the plane with the help of a dog. All bags were rechecked for any trace of an explosive device.

Nothing suspicious was discovered, said Capt. Joe Puckett of the Jackson County Sheriff's Office.

The passengers were then interviewed by authorities. They were given half a turkey sandwich, a voucher for a local hotel and were to resume their flight Tuesday afternoon.

Officials felt the call was a "credible threat" because the caller referred to a specific flight, said Kim Stearns, the airport spokeswoman.

"The individual was firm and gave information for a specific flight," she said.