Man arrested on plane at MacArthur airport

A 75-year-old Chicago man was arrested after making a comment about a bomb being in his carry-on bag during a Southwest flight headed for Long Island MacArthur Airport yesterday afternoon, authorities said.

Authorities evacuated the plane but found no explosive device.

Draco Slaughter was on Southwest Flight 373 from Midway airport in Chicago, which arrived about 2:35 p.m., authorities said.

He got his carry-on bag from the rear of the plane and put it on an empty seat across from him.

A flight attendant walking by asked who owned the bag, and Slaughter stated that the bag was his and that it contained a bomb, authorities said.

"In some way he used the word 'bomb,' " MacArthur Airport Commissioner Teresa Rizzuto said. "And that is all you have to say."

The flight attendant contacted the pilot, who radioed Southwest operations. The plane was met at the gate by airport police and Transportation Security Administration officials. The FBI also was on site.

Slaughter was detained and the plane evacuated. No one was injured.

Suffolk County police brought in bomb technicians and dogs to inspect the plane.

Slaughter, of 10454 S. Forest Ave. in Chicago, was charged with falsely reporting an incident. He was to be arraigned Monday in First District Court in Central Islip.