WASHINGTON, Jan. 30 (UPI) -- A security emergency that diverted a New Jersey-to-Colombia flight was caused by a case of mistaken identity, a security source says.

Transportation Security Administration officials Friday diverted Continental Airlines Flight 881 -- which left left Newark, N.J., bound for Bogota, Colombia -- to Jacksonville, Fla., CNN reported. TSA officials, however, said FBI agents later cleared a "person of interest" aboard the plane and it was allowed to continue to Bogota after landing at Jacksonville International Airport about 5:45 p.m.

An unnamed Homeland Security official told CNN the passenger had been targeted in a case of "mistaken identity" and that the FBI had to verify the person's identity.

The passenger - one of 75 on board the Continental Airlines flight - was cleared by the FBI at Jacksonville International Airport and permitted to continue to Bogota, the Transportation Security Administration said.

The government was expected to investigate how the passenger was allowed to board the plane before he was positively deemed safe. An airline is not supposed to issue a boarding pass to a person on the government's no-fly list.

It was not immediately clear whether the passenger, who was not identified, went through additional screening in Newark.

The government is rolling out a new program designed to reduce instances of passengers being mistaken for someone on the terror watch lists.

Currently, when airlines check the lists, they do not have any information other than the names on the list. All domestic carriers are expected to move to the new program, Secure Flight, by March.

The mixup comes after Umar Abdulmutallab tried to use explosives-laden underwear to blow up an airliner over Michigan on Christmas Day. He was not on the no-fly list or a list of people who should receive additional screening before boarding a plane.