Steven Slater, a career flight attendant, came to the tipping point. An excellent flight attendant for over 20 years, a passenger thought it was satisfactory to mistreatment him for doing his job. The Jet Blue flight attendant stormed off, went on a tirade of his own over the intercom and then employed the emergency chute and took off on foot down the tarmac. He has been charged with criminal mischief, reckless endangerment and other crimes.
A plane case of a man pushed too far
According to CNN, Jet Blue Flight 1052 landed at JFK International Airport from Pittsburgh. The plane was nearing the terminal after landing, and a passenger stood up to get his bag in the overhead bin before it was safe to do so, and Steven Slater, a flight attendant, instructed him he had to take his seat until the plane came to a stop. Exactly what happened is not known, but it is clear that Slater was struck by either the bag falling from the overhead bin or the traveler struck him. The man refused to apologize and swore at him. He took over the intercom, announced he was quitting and unleashed a barrage of profanity at the unruly cretin. He opened the emergency chute, and took some beer from the galley before exiting the plane. He was arrested later at his home.
Cabin had too much pressure
According to MSN, Steven Slater was rarely at home, even when he was not working. His roommate reported that Slater often flew to Thousand Oaks, Calif., to care for his ailing mother, as he had done for his father. His mother was a career flight attendant also, as outlined by the New York Times. His father, a former pilot, passed away from Lou Gehrig’s Disease.
The consumer is not even close to always right
People within the service trades should be treated better than they are. Any person who has worked in the service trades for any length of time, be it in a restaurant or movie theater, knows just how awful the public could be at times. Mistakes do sometimes get made, but cooperating and being polite cost nothing.
Find more information on this subject
MSNBC
msnbc.msn.com/id/38629517/ns/travel-news/
CNN
cnn.com/2010/TRAVEL/08/10/new.york.escape.chute.opened/?hpt=C2
NY Times
nytimes.com/2010/08/10/nyregion/10attendant.html?_r=1 and hp
