board that was 'beeping.'"

The Stark County Sheriff's Department, Bismarck Police Department Bomb Squad, FBI and other agencies responded to the airport, which was locked down until the aircraft could be cleared of potential explosives.

The suspicious package turned out to be a white plastic bag with rolled up towels inside. There were no electronic devices or explosive materials in the bag.

The aircraft's captain, first officer and flight attendant - Cox-Sever - all told the FBI that Cox-Sever found the bag in the rear of the plane and notified the flight deck. Through the speaker system, the crew asked if the bag belonged to anyone. Nobody claimed it.

"Cox-Sever then noticed the bag was beeping and notified the flight deck," Genck wrote.

No other passengers reported hearing a beeping.

The captain responded bydeclaring an emergency and landing the aircraft.

Cox-Sever also allegedly told Genck in an interview that he had a similar encounter on a July 7 flight, American Airlines 2928 from Charlottesville, Va., to Chicago. He said on that flight he discovered a written threat on the wall of the lavatory stating there was a bomb on the plane. That flight was diverted to Charlottesville and no explosives were found.

Under further questioning, Cox-Sever confessed to planting the suspicious bag, saying he acquired it from a food delivery a few days prior and the towels were his own, Genck wrote. He also allegedly confessed to fabricating the other incident on the July 7 flight to Chicago.

"Cox-Sever stated he was extorted by a friend who told him that he needed to 'bring