Wichita ? An airline passenger was briefly hospitalized and two of his family members were taken off a flight Thursday after the man showed symptoms of SARS, officials said.

An examination at Via Christi-St. Francis Medical Center showed no evidence that the man had severe acute respiratory syndrome, said Dr. Hewitt Goodpasture, the hospital’s epidemiologist.

The passenger and his family members were released from the hospital but will remain under observation for 10 days, said Doren Fredrickson, health officer for the Sedgwick County Health Department.

American Airlines Flight 3731, making regular service to Wichita from Dallas with 46 people aboard, was briefly quarantined after the three were taken off, city spokeswoman LaTricia Harper said.

Harper said all three had recently traveled to Vietnam, one of the countries where SARS first broke out.

The ailing passenger, whose name and age were not immediately available, had a severe hacking cough, Harper said.

The pilot reported the situation around 10:30 a.m., Harper said, and the plane landed about 20 minutes later. By then, county emergency crews had set up a quarantine area.

After the three passengers were taken to the hospital, the remaining 39 passengers and four crew members were briefly kept for interviews by health workers, Harper said.