A female student was arrested on Sep. 21 after she was found strapping a fake bomb to her chest at a Boston international airport.

The 19-year-old student from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, identified as Star Simpson, was arrested about 8 a.m. (12:00 GMT) outside Terminal C, home to United Airlines, JetBlue and other carriers, said police officers at the Logan International Airport.

The MIT sophomore from Hawaii has been charged with disturbing peace and possessing a hoax device and was set to be arraigned later in the day, police said, adding her motives were still unclear.

"She said that it was a piece of art and she wanted to stand out on career day," police officer Scott Pare said at a news conference. "She claims that it was just art, and that she was proud of art and she wanted to display it."

An airport staffer at an information booth became suspicious after seeing Simpson wearing the device when she approached to ask about an incoming flight, and notified a nearby trooper.

The hoax evoked terrorism threats confronting the civil aviation system. In the Sep. 11 terrorist attacks, two of the four hijacked passenger jets took off from Logan.

"She certainly jeopardized her own safety by bringing this to the airport, as well as the safety of everybody around her," Pare said.