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August 9, 2010

Steven Slater, Back Before A JetBlue Passenger Drove Him Nuts

UPDATE: Criminal complaint filed against Slater

AUGUST 9--In one of the greatest airline meltdowns ever, a JetBlue flight attendant was arrested today after he allegedly activated the emergency-exit chute, slid down to the tarmac, and bolted from John F. Kennedy International Airport.

The flight attendant, Steven Slater, was later arrested at his Queens home and charged with criminal trespass, reckless endangerment, and criminal mischief. This felony/misdemeanor mix carries a maximum of seven years in prison, according to a spokesperson with the Queens district attorney's office.

The 39-year-old Slater’s bizarre departure from the Embraer 190 jet was apparently triggered after a dispute with a passenger who began removing his luggage from an overhead bin before the plane had arrived at the gate. The JetBlue flight had arrived from Pittsburgh at about 11:40 AM with about 100 passengers.

After the confrontation with the passenger escalated, Slater got on the plane’s public address system and began cursing. That’s when he allegedly activated the chute and exited the plane (presumably leaving behind shocked passengers and crew members).

Slater is seen above in a photo from his MySpace page. He is pictured holding his JetBlue crew ID card, which was scheduled to expire February 28, 2012. At least until this afternoon.

TAGS

in-flight crime, meltdown, JetBlue, Steven Slater

Comments (18)

Submitted by user on Mon, 2010-08-09 21:20.
It's a shame the Steward lost his cool. Had he calmed down for a second he would have realized that he had this passenger by the balls. Thanks to the Patriot Act not only is disobeying a Steward/Stewardess a federal crime, but so is striking one. The Steward probably had other things going on in his life that caused him to snap, but he did snap and will have to face the music. That being said, this asshat passenger who thinks he's more entitled than any other passenger on the plane absolutely, positively deserves to have the book thrown at him. I am not a fan of the Patriot Act, but this is a case where the passenger needs to go down, hard.
Submitted by lungston on Mon, 2010-08-09 21:11.
how many of us passengers wish we could have done exactly the same? extra credit to him for taking some beer.
Submitted by aghast-at-everything on Tue, 2010-08-10 10:32.
I would wager that it wasn't entirely due to that one passenger. He probably has built up a toxicity level over the years, much like arsenic, and it finally hit the lethal level and that guy reaped the reward by his behavior. Tsk, tsk, poor rude man!
Submitted by Quagmire on Mon, 2010-08-09 20:49.
That's so gay ...
Submitted by His Majesty O'Keefe on Mon, 2010-08-09 20:37.
This kid just blew it, he'll never fly again, hope he enjoys unemployment, or he could end up working for TSA
Submitted by todigy69 on Mon, 2010-08-09 18:57.
What about arresting all the screwball passengers who think they can put their needs above everyone else's (such as in this incident) and get away with bloody murder while laughing on their way running down the airport hallways? If this flight attendant is fired, he should either be hired by another airline at double his previous salary or hired to host a reality show dealing with everyday outrages. Way to go Steven!!! There was a movie dealing with similar material where the lead character said "We're mad as Hell and we're not going to take it anymore". What about installing cameras on planes for a future documentary movie showing all the rude/idiotic passenger behavior?
Submitted by dayer on Mon, 2010-08-09 18:39.
I cant blame this guy really, yeah he snapped but at least he didn't throw the passenger out of the plane like I would have done. He may have thrown his career away (I hope not) but people need to learn that they aren't royalty and you do what the flight attendant tells you to. I seriously doubt there is anyone who doesn't know that they need to wait to open the overhead compartment and getting your bag down in row 35 isn't going to get you off the plane any time sooner than waiting. You fly across the country in 4-5 hours which 100 years ago would have taken 3-4 days by train or months by horse before that and you think saving 15 seconds is going to matter ? This airline will probably can this guy but they should ALSO never let that passenger fly again after insulting the flight attendant who is just following the rules. This guy should be the poster boy for any of the many consumer groups that exist to make travel more civilized and fairer. Good for you Steve you crazy b*stard !!!
Submitted by Sara on Mon, 2010-08-09 18:02.
I think it is safe to say that the stress and insanity of the airline routines are driving Americans crazy. Many airline stewards have gotten drunk with their total power over passengers and passengers are totally irked with the whole authoritian corporate/government atmosphere. I have seen stewards abuse passengers and seen passengers abuse stewards. We need to get our freedom and respect for one another back or the airline industry is going to die. How about we chop the heck out Homeland Security which has now made us all into potential domestic terrorists/enemies of the State. They have gone too far; citizen abuse is now a major profit center throughout society. Do it now, America!
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