Jet Blue Flight Attendant -JFK

[GeorgeG]

So the guy made a dramatic exit. He didn't hurt anyone. He did what many of us would like to do in a similar situation. This guy is okay in my book.

 

[Imzadi]

He is charged with criminal mischief, reckless endangerment and trespassing so I hope he does time in prison. Also, Jet Blue says the emergency escape slide will cost in excess of $25,000 to replace.

They have to replace a slide each time it deploys and one person slides down? I'd say the airlines have more problems to worry about.

From CNN:

New York Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said that it "appears" the flight attendant quit his job in a very dramatic way.


Appears??

If you watch the news clip of Commissioner Kelly saying that, even he had a smirk on his face. Considering all the other crimes he has to deal with, the fact that no one got hurt, this one is one of the lighter, funnier and certainly more dramatic ones he had to deal with.

Can you imagine when someone informed him of the incident? "Commissioner Kelly, some Jet Blue flight attendant had an altercation with a passenger and he made a YAGE from his job!"

Comm. Kelly:"How is that a crime? I've been wanting to do that for years."

I'd give him $5!!!

I'm in for $5!

Yeah, lets make sure we kick some murder, drunk driver, child molester or drug dealer out of jail so that Mr Slater does time.

Oh darn! He should have done this at LAX, where with the overcrowding of L.A. jails, he'd be out in 5 days.

 

[AKL_Megs]

They have to replace a slide each time it deploys and one person slides down? I'd say the airlines have more problems to worry about.

Well, it sounds stupid, but it all comes down to safety. Once a slide is deployed, it is compromised. It's not like a tent, you can't fold it down and put it back in it's bag again. There are cartridges to make it expand, etc. Think of it like a REALLY big airbag.

 

[Magix]

Seriously, this guy should claim he had a concussion from the hit on the head. I'm sure he could find a sympathetic doctor (they deal with the public, too) who could diagnose him as such. It would certainly explain his behavior and get him off the hook for his actions.

I really can sympathize with the guy. I deal with the public every day and there have been many, many times I'd love to have just hauled off and quit dramatically like that! I only wish my finances (or another job to go to) would allow me to do it.

More power to him!

 

[dakcp2001]

Well, it sounds stupid, but it all comes down to safety. Once a slide is deployed, it is compromised. It's not like a tent, you can't fold it down and put it back in it's bag again. There are cartridges to make it expand, etc. Think of it like a REALLY big airbag.

I think the passenger ignoring the FA request to get back in there seat is also a HUGE safety issue. What if there was a bomb in the bag? ANd after hitting the FA in the face with the bag, why didnt the air marshalls tackle this passenger? If this passenger was someone who intended to harm other people on the plane, she would have been successful. THERE ARE REASONS YOU ARE NOT TO ACCESS YOUR BAGGAGE UNTIL GIVEN THE OK.

I have to admit, one thing that REALLY irks me is those people that climb over you to get off the plane & do not wait their turn. EVERYONE wants to get off the plane, but there is always that one jackal that thinks they are more important than everone else and should get to cut everyone on the way out. I think the perfect punishment for this passenger would have been getting tackled on the tarmac by the marshalls. Of course then these ignoramuses sue and play the victim.

 

[NotUrsula]

Well, it sounds stupid, but it all comes down to safety. Once a slide is deployed, it is compromised. It's not like a tent, you can't fold it down and put it back in it's bag again. There are cartridges to make it expand, etc. Think of it like a REALLY big airbag.

Yes, but they don't replace them as in throwing them away after one use, unless they are damaged beyond repair. They take the housing out and put in another one that they have in reserve, and send the deployed one to a service facility, where it is inspected and re-packed if it is not damaged. Re-packing costs about $10K in labor, freight and parts in most cases. $25K is full replacement cost for one that is damaged beyond repair.

 

[TDC Nala]

While this guy had a complete and total overreaction and is going to end up with a criminal record, the story seems also indicative of the abuse that flight attendants are having to put up with.

 

[Imzadi]

I think the passenger ignoring the FA request to get back in there seat is also a HUGE safety issue. What if there was a bomb in the bag? ANd after hitting the FA in the face with the bag, why didnt the air marshalls tackle this passenger? If this passenger was someone who intended to harm other people on the plane, she would have been successful. THERE ARE REASONS YOU ARE NOT TO ACCESS YOUR BAGGAGE UNTIL GIVEN THE OK.

It was a domestic flight: Pittsburgh to JFK. They usually don't have air marshals on such short flights. If the airline screeners have done their jobs properly, there should be no bombs in carry-on.

Also, people CAN access their baggage during some parts of their flight. So they could have bombed a plane in flight - which is more in keeping with the horror & dramatics our known terrorists like to use.

 

[gometros]

Well, it sounds stupid, but it all comes down to safety. Once a slide is deployed, it is compromised. It's not like a tent, you can't fold it down and put it back in it's bag again. There are cartridges to make it expand, etc. Think of it like a REALLY big airbag.

Think of it like a car bag. It's not meant to be deployed except in emergencies. It has to be repacked properly in order to be reused.

 

[dakcp2001]

It was a domestic flight: Pittsburgh to JFK. They usually don't have air marshals on such short flights. If the airline screeners have done their jobs properly, there should be no bombs in carry-on.

Also, people CAN access their baggage during some parts of their flight. So they could have bombed a plane in flight - which is more in keeping with the horror & dramatics our known terrorists like to use.

If it is a time when you are not supposed to be getting your bag, and you get up to get your bag and directly disobey a flight attendants request that is supicious behaviour, there should be some sort of repurcussions. No one is above following the rules. I hate the entitlement attitude. ANd just because TSA screens the bags doesnt mean they would catch everything.

 

[AKL_Megs]

The staying in your seat has more to do with FALLING than bombs.

I once had a mother get up as we were on our taxi in, and before we could get to her, the plane suddenly stopped, and she fell, landing on the poor baby in her arms! Luckily everyone was okay, but she was embarrassed.

You are to stay in your seat for your safety and for the safety of those around you. The bins are to stay closed so their contents don't come out if we suddenly stop.

 

[onelilspark]

I have the 5 o'clock news on now... Apparently the woman who he had problems with getting her bag out of the overhead too quickly caused problems on take-off!! Her & another woman were fighting over space in the bin and she SHUT THE BIN ON HIS HEAD.

Why on earth was that woman not taken off that plane!

 

[redlight]

The passenger was wrong, but so was the flight attendant. Given that it is the flight attendant's job to defuse situations like this, his behavior (even before opening the emergency escape) was unprofessional. Opening the chute only compounded the problem.

 

[MouseJunkie]

I'd give him $5!!!

But really, it's a hard job. 14 hour days, 4 days a week, every week, every month. It wears you down. And while 99.9% of people listen to instructions, there is always that .1% who are above that...

It's extremely stressful, because when these people DON'T listen, we MUST correct them. If we don't, and the FAA finds out, WE could be fined, out of our own pocket, upwards of $10,000, JUST because you can't listen and sit down, turn off your cell phone, etc. We have to be constantly on our toes. It's a stressful job. Add regular LIFE stress and being 3000 miles away from home, and it makes it that much harder.

Me too...worked with the public for over 20 years! We've all been pushed a little too far some days. I would have stopped for something tropical and fruity along with an umbrella and then been on way down the slide. WEEEE!!!! Where should we send the $$?

 

[eliza61]

Well, I'm sure this isn't going to be popular, but I'm on the side of the flight attendant. They have so much stuff to put up with.

quite a few people are on the guys side. I totally understand how boyfriend feels. I worked for 10 years at the customer service desk at Sears. I can't tell you the number of times I wished for a tazer gun to seriously shock some of the wonder bugs we get. Why people feel that they can do what they want, any time they want is simply beyond me. Sit your tush down until the plane comes to a complete stop. It's not rocket science.

Sorry guys, working for John Q. Public is not for the wimps. I say it all the time, I see more guest behaving badly at disney than I ever see of the CM's behaving that way.

Hey Steve,
next time you should toss the unruly passenger off the plane, then look at the rest of the passengers and ask "Who's next"?

 

[kaytieeldr]

I think it shows an amazing lack of character and professionalism and a good deal of immaturity to behave in that fashion.

That FA allowed some idiot passenger on a plane to make a ******* out of him and probably cost him his livelihood. That's just stupid. He's not a hero...he's sad and pethetic.

And yes, the passenger should be fined or whatever the punishment is for disobeying the FA.

Well, it "cost" him his job only in that Jet Blue would have probably let him go anyway... depending on exactly what he said, IF he hadn't made the conscious decision to leave on his own. Given his lengthy career as a Flight Attendant, this was apparently the last straw in a long list of incidents - not an isolated occurrence that made him suddenly snap and behave in any version that could be considered immature.

 

[kaytieeldr]

All of you (us) who work with the public should check out notalwaysright.com ... and then blame darsa when you can't tear yourself away...

 

[mikehn]

Sorry I dont have any sympathy. This guy got paid to do a job. He should suck it up and do his job. Why dont we just all quit when the going gets a little tough.

 

[Cat0727]

Well, it "cost" him his job only in that Jet Blue would have probably let him go anyway... depending on exactly what he said, IF he hadn't made the conscious decision to leave on his own. Given his lengthy career as a Flight Attendant, this was apparently the last straw in a long list of incidents - not an isolated occurrence that made him suddenly snap and behave in any version that could be considered immature.

Yea, I have no doubt it was a bunch of crap piled up that he had to endure over the years- I can only imagine, poor guy...I joined his facebook page, I can't believe there are 62,000 fans already!

 

[FergieTCat]

The passenger was wrong, but so was the flight attendant. Given that it is the flight attendant's job to defuse situations like this, his behavior (even before opening the emergency escape) was unprofessional. Opening the chute only compounded the problem.

I'm sure by the time he opened the chute, he wasn't too concerned about his professionalism.