Rocker Derringer guilty: Carried pistol on plane, in airport

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ATLANTA (AP) — Rock guitarist Rick Derringer has pleaded guilty and agreed to pay a $1,000 fine after stepping off a Delta Air Lines flight from Mexico with a loaded handgun in Atlanta's airport.

Prosecutors say Derringer told a federal air marshal he kept his gun with him on commercial airline flights 30 to 50 times a year.

His plea this week involves only one charge: Carrying a weapon aboard an airplane and in a secure area of Atlanta's airport Jan. 9.

Derringer told the air marshal that carrying his gun on planes has never been a problem until it was found in his carry-on after arriving on his flight from Cancun.

The 69-year-old Derringer, of Bradenton, Florida, sang the 1965 hit "Hang on Sloopy" and later recorded "Rock and Roll, Hoochie Koo."