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My New Folk Hero
By: Patrick Maguire
Book Chapter: Customer Hall of Shame
Posted: 08/9/2010
This is classic. Think of the number of times you would have loved to escape from horrific customers through a trapdoor or an inflatable chute. I can’t wait to hear the rest of the story. I’d love to hear first-hand accounts from passengers or other crew members. Even if this guy gets fired, for now, he’s my new hero and I need to interview him.
Article from the Wall Street Journal, 8/9/10:
Flight Attendant Pops Emergency Chute, Escapes Plane at JFK
By Sean Gardiner
An upset flight attendant at John F. Kennedy Airport activated his plane’s emergency chute, slid down then made his way to his car and drove home, according to an airport official.
JetBlue Flight 1052 from Pittsburgh was taxing to a stop at Terminal 5, Gate C around noon Monday when a passenger got up from his seat before the plane’s pilot deemed it safe to do so. The man was trying to remove his baggage from one of the plane’s overhead compartments when the flight attendant confronted the man and asked him to return to his seat, the official said. The passenger and the male flight attendant exchanged heated words. For reasons that are so far unclear, the flight attendant then activated the inflatable emergency slide, went down the chute and ran into the terminal, the official said.
The attendant then took a shuttle bus to the long-term parking area at JFK, retrieved his car and drove home, the official said.
Police picked the flight attendant up at his home Monday afternoon and brought him to the Port Authority Police station at the airport for questioning. (No word on whether the flight attendant was one of the many former NYPD officers in jetBlue’s employ.)
“At this time, we are working with the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey to investigate this incident. At no time was the security or safety of our customers or crewmembers at risk,” said Steve Stampley, a JetBlue Airways spokesman.
Update from the Wall Street Journal: The Flight Attendant grabbed 2 beers from the galley before heading down the slide. Smart man.
8/10/10 update from the New York Times.
8/10/10 update from the Daily News.
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4 Responses to “My New Folk Hero”
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Permalink | Posted in Customer Hall of Shame | 4 Comments »
LOL! I would never want to be a flight attendant!
That could be a great restaurant design, though! Could be the first time good food was served on a plane!
Steven Slater is soo awesome, he deserves being recognized as being a good guy. It is possible to see once again how the internet will make folks aware. 20 many years ago this would had been only a modest notification from the newspapers currently this kind of an event is on Facebook, Twitter, blogs. I wish Steve excellent luck for the long term, and I hope he can make some money with his new popularity.
I just read in the Daily News story:
– he was in bed with his boyfriend when the cops arrived
– he was smiling
– his father recently died
– his mother is dying of cancer
… so he’s been under a lot of stress about things that ACTUALLY MATTER.
I was on the fence. But now, IMO, this guy is all right. I wish him all the best. He’s a working class hero, and apparently a family hero, too.
We have become a society of immediate gratification with an over-active sense of entitlement. Being a customer does not give you the right to lose all civility and treat a complete stranger with such hatred and disrespect. Today I was told I shouldn’t be able to look at myself in the mirror bc I could not give 30$ off your bill for the 19th month in a row. Sadly, I have become jaded working with the public