Official: Fla.-bound flight delayed in NY, inspected after man makes ‘comment about a bomb’

Man’s bomb comment delays Fla.-bound flight in NY

RONKONKOMA, N.Y. — Authorities say a man “made a comment about a bomb” on a flight from Chicago to New York’s MacArthur Airport, forcing passengers to get off the plane while authorities inspected the aircraft.

No devices were found. The man was taken into custody after the Sunday afternoon incident on Southwest Airlines Flight 373, a Boeing 737 carrying 137 passengers and five crew members.

Suffolk County police say the 75-year-old suspect was arrested on a charge of first-degree falsely reporting an incident.

Southwest Airlines spokeswoman Olga Romero says the suspect made the comment to a flight attendant while deplaning.

The flight was delayed about two hours while police inspected the aircraft.

The flight was making a scheduled stop at the Long Island airport before leaving for West Palm Beach, Fla., at about 5 p.m.