Travel News

JetBlue Flight Attendant Snaps Over Abusive Passenger

Locations in this article:  Pittsburgh, PA

In a move that has made him a folk hero to disgruntled workers everywhere, JetBlue flight attendant Steven Slater cursed out a passenger on an airplane’s public-address system, grabbed some beer from the galley, and made a dramatic exit off a plane via the emergency evacuation chute on Monday.

After landing at Kennedy International Airport on Flight 1052 from Pittsburgh, Slater allegedly squabbled with a female passenger who was trying to remove luggage from the overhead compartment prior to arriving at the gate.

According to witnesses onboard, the female passenger become verbally abusive to Slater and hit him with her bag, causing injury. At that point, Slater lost his temper with the rule-breaker and directed a profanity-laced tirade toward the woman on the airplane’s PA system.

Passengers say Slater ended the rant by grabbing beer from the beverage cart and pulling the lever that activated the plane’s emergency-evacuation chute. After exiting the plane in this dramatic fashion, Slater drove home.

Authorities arrested Slater later that day at his home in the Belle Harbor section of Queens. Slater has been charged second-degree criminal mischief and first-degree reckless endangerment, both felonies that could land him in jail for up to seven years.

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Plane in blueAccording to authorities, releasing the plane’s emergency chute could have caused injury or death to someone on the ground.

Slater, however, was smiling as he was arraigned on Tuesday. His defense attorney argued against bail, saying that Slater was under stress because of his mother’s lung cancer. The judge set his bail at $2,500, which Slater posted. His next court appearance is scheduled for September 7.

Slater, a 20-year industry veteran, was the leader of JetBlue’s uniform redesign committee and a member of the airline’s in-flight values committee. He also came from a family with strong ties to the airline community. His mother was a retired flight attendant, and his father, who died recently from Lou Gehrig’s disease, was a pilot.

Pending the investigation, JetBlue Airways has removed Slater from his duties. The budget carrier has declined to comment on the specifics of the flight, but said they were working with the Federal Aviation Administration and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey to investigate the incident.

By Adriana Padilla for PeterGreenberg.com.