Airline Steward at JFK Pulls Emergency Chute, Flies Coop

[Phil The Cat]

Source: NBC New York

A flight attendant ran out of patience on a plane that just landed at JFK on Monday afternoon, so he allegedly cursed a blue streak over the p.a. system, grabbed some beers, pulled the emergency chute, slid down and ran from the plane, sources said.

Jet Blue employee Steven Slater, 38, was working on Flight 1052 from Pittsburgh to Kennedy Airport, which landed at around 12 p.m., when he got into a verbal altercation with a passenger, law-enforcement sources said.

- more -

The argument began when one of the 100 passengers on the flight, got up early to get her luggage from an overhead compartment, according to sources. Slater told the passenger to sit back down -- but, as he approached, the woman continued to pull her belongings down and struck him in the head with her bag, authorities said.

Slater asked for an apology but the woman cursed him out, saying in effect "go f--k yourself" and calling him a "mo-fo," according to law enforcement sources who are still sorting out the specifics. Then Slater got on the flight's announcement system and allegedly cursed out everyone on the plane -- especially the person who mouthed off to him, according to law enforcement sources.

- end excerpt -

Read more: http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local-beat/Airline-Steward-at-JFK-Pulls-Emergency-Chute-Flies-Coop-100286494.html

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I am not going to say I support what he did...but I understand!

Not sure if he is in the life, but regardless, I am sure homophobia plays a big part of the passenger's bad behavior!

"Police sources said that when authorities found Slater he seemed to be in the midst having sexual relations."

Hopefully he had some fun and tension release before his real nightmare starts!

[Blue_Tires]

1. LOL that's incredibly awesome

i can relate...NO ONE likes 'that person' who rushes the overheads and then tries to be the first at the door when they are sitting in the back row...

[No Elephants]

4. Wow.

[bettyellen]

7. they are alwasy pushy and rude. very unpleasant to be around.

[Salander]

25. Serious decline in civility

I have noticed a serious decline in civility in air travel over the past several years. You would think that people would chill during a flight considering the vulnerability of everyone in the aircraft.

[surrealAmerican]

29. Problem is, you start treating passengers like cattle ...

... and some of them will start behaving like that.

[Hekate]

2. Where do you get the homophobia thing out of the article? I clicked on it. "Sex" doesn't equal "gay"

The guy was definitely having a bad day and he snapped. But I don't see where he or anyone else said he was gay.
:shrug:

Hekate

[Phil The Cat]

3. I'm not saying he is gay

But that's the perception that right wingers have of male flight attendants, weather he is or is not!

(OK, so part of it is wishful thinking! He's handsome in an Ed Harris sort of way, and in the video it shows another guy being arrested with him!)

People are nasty to male flight attendants even more than female! I've heard nasty homophobic remarks fom people on planes about them!

[NashVegas]

14. But His Boyfriend Might Say He Is

He was found in bed, with his boyfriend.

[Hekate]

27. "Coffee, Tea or Me?"-- "I'm Cheryl. Fly me." --"We really move our tail for you."

Really? I thought it improved since the guys were allowed to be flight attendants and the "girls" could stay on the job even if married and past the age of 30.

I've flown a lot and have never heard any slurs against the men. It's a hard job, that's all -- I wouldn't want to have to always be cheery regardless of whatever was thrown at me. I'd probably snap long before 28 years was up.

Hekate

[Heywood J]

5. "he seemed to be in the midst having sexual relations"

Seemed to be? Have police forgotten what sexual relations look like?

[Ex Lurker]

6. maybe it was one from the back pages of the kama sutra? n/t

[BrklynLiberal]

21. and exactly how is that statement even the least relevant to the story of the arrest???

I am not sure if it was the cops or the reporters who are doing their best to sensationalize the situation

[KharmaTrain]

8. Remember When Air Travel Was Fun?

The airlines actually went out of their way to make one feel relatively comfortable...a meal or snack, a beverage, a smile...not any more. Air travel has become uglier and more expensive. Also so sadly indicative of a society where understanding and accomodation aren't tolerated.

[malaise]

9. Air travel has rarely been fun

for the crew in the back. Stewardesses, female and male, have been subject to all kinds of harassment/insults/violence for decades.

[KharmaTrain]

10. It's Gotten Worse Since 9/11

True...there are those who had one too many but since 9/11 airports and air travel have been an armed fortress that stresses all. Sounds like two people with bad hair days in the wrong place at the wrong time.

:hi:

[BrklynLiberal]

12. It was NEVER fun for those who worked for the airlines......

[NashVegas]

16. I Also Remember When It Was Rarer For Passengers To Behave Like Dicks

The biggest assholes of all are people who put their carry-on luggage in an overhead bin at the front of the plane when their seats are in the back.

[Gormy Cuss]

23. I disagree with you on this one

Passengers are responding to the cattle car mentality. The biggest assholes are the corporate execs who have turned flying into an unpleasant experience by encouraging carry-ons to bypass checked luggage fees and allowing early boarding frequent fliers to dump their bags at the front of the plane rather than in the bins near their assigned seats.

[NashVegas]

24. What the Airline Allows

Isn't what the flyer who dumps his huge "overnight" bag in the front rows has to do.

[MajorChode]

30. People had plenty of carry-ons prior to that policy

Even before, it was quite common for people to drag on two carry-ons (one of which would be too large to be a carry-on anyway), just to avoid waiting on the baggage carousel. If anything, the new policies made things better once they started enforcing the maximum size of carry-ons and limiting the number you could bring.

Other than that I think the assholery is just as bad as it ever was. It just gets publicized more. Maybe back in the 50's when flying was something practically everyone did in a coat and tie or a dress was it more civilized, but those days are way long gone.

[Gormy Cuss]

31. The difference is the bins weren't utterly crammed on every flight.

It wasn't common for people other than road warriors to bring two bags testing the limits.

The glamor was gone long before I started flying. My flying has been after deregulation, but I have been flying for three decades. The bad baggage behavior has increased exponentially since the 9/11 changes. People are peeved by the shoe dancing, water dumping, strip down at security, annoyed that all checked bags are add on fees and that finding a space for carry-on when you're in a later boarding group is challenging at best and deplaning takes forever because of all the carry-on bags.

[MajorChode]

28. It still is fun, just not with the airlines

Rules about 4oz squirt bottles contained in ziplock bags no larger than 1 quart and other nonsensical shit destroyed what little fun remained on most commercial air travel, but that doesn't mean there isn't fun to be had. Flying is some of the best fun you can have with your pants on.

[Javaman]

11. So let's recap...

passenger acts like a total asshole, this guy tells her off, grabs a beer, bolts out of the airplane in the coolest manner possible, then goes off and has sex!

Now THAT is the way to quit a job!

He is my hero!

[BrklynLiberal]

13. You are not alone. I heard he has facebooks pages dedicated to him, and youtube tributes.

If you gotta quit..THAT is the way to do it. Too bad it got him arrested.

[Javaman]

20. The only think missing from this story is a hot tube!

:rofl:

[WI_DEM]

15. Too bad he had to ruin his career, but some of these customers are jackasses

and abuse day after day builds up.

[AngryOldDem]

17. Take this job and shove it....

I can just imagine the shit flight attendants have to put up with every day. And they have the take it with a smile. At some point, you have to reach critical mass.

[Abq_Sarah]

26. It a result of that "the customer is always right" crap

The customer is not always right and many times they are a complete asshole. I say that as a business owner.

One thing I will not tolerate is any customer haranguing an employee for doing what I've instructed them to do. My employees don't need that shit and neither do I. Customers who behave like that can find another business to accept their money and their crappy attitude.

[BrklynLiberal]

18. How many arrests are described in such detail that they tell what the suspect was "in the midst of"

when arrested. The entire story appears to have been sensationalized to make Slater look bad.

The passenger was an aahole..for more than one reason, and I think Slater did what a lot of us wish we could do in situations like that.

The report I heard on the radio said he only called that passenger a name...the same one she called him.
He did not curse out the enditre planeload of passengers.

I hope he gets off scot-free...maybe a little fine.


How about prosecuting that passenger who was standing up while the plane was moving???? She endangered more people that Slater did.

[NashVegas]

19. I Know People Who Are Lining Up to Contribute to His Defense Fund

Stephen Slater is a hero.

[FredStembottom]

22. Probably like my job: people quitting not replaced. Work forced onto those left behind.

Un-ending speed-ups in the form of "today you did X - tomorrow you must do X+2 IN 15 MINUTES LESS TIME.

ASSIGNED punch out times no matter what the day brings.

Oh... and as of today nothing less than 100% accuracy will be tolerated.

Oh, yes.... and every customer must have the best customer experience of their life.

All while operating HUGE moving machines.

It's quite unbearable.

And I'm not joking. This is real.

[Skip Intro]

32. LOVE IT! I hate rude, foul-mouthed people who think those in the service industry are punching bags.

I really do. Should be the passenger sitting in jail. This guy should file assault charges against her.

What an Excellent "take this job and shove it" moment!