BOSTON -- A North Carolina man was arrested Tuesday after he was accused of trying to bring a loaded firearm onto a plane at Logan International Airport, Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley announced.

John Megelich was charged with unlawful possession of a firearm, unlawful possession of ammunition and violating airport security by possessing a prohibited weapon.

Transportation Safety Administration employees at the Northwest Airlines security checkpoint in Terminal E observed what appeared to be a loaded handgun in Megelich's briefcase as it passed through an X-ray machine at about 7 a.m. The employees notified Massachusetts State Police assigned to the airport, who responded to the scene.

Inside the black leather bag, state troopers found a Colt Mk IV .380-caliber semiautomatic handgun loaded with five rounds of ammunition. The troopers inquired as to whether Megelich had a license to carry the weapon, to which he responded that he did not. The troopers placed him under arrest, and he was booked and fingerprinted at the Logan barracks.

Prosecutors requested that Megelich be held on $25,000 cash bail. East Boston District Court Judge Paul Mahoney set bail at $2,500 and ordered Megelich to return to court on Aug. 29.