Time line of air steward’s dramtic last day of work

Air steward Steven Slater shot to notoriety and fame after recently quitting his job with amplified four letter words and an exit on the emergency slide while carrying 2 beers.

While this story is heavily covered, it’s difficult to get a complete time line of events and background on Mr Slater. I’ve cobbled together the following story using a variety of internet sources, newspapers, networks, blogs of eyewitnesses and social networking posts made by Slater prior to his incident.

There are several “video recreations” of the events online but none are accurate when compared to the story the sources tell.

video of his release from custody after posting bail.

Steven Slater, who is 37 or 38 years old began working as an air steward at age 19.  His father was a pilot for American Airlines,  and died more than a decade ago. His mother Diane Slater of California, currently has lung cancer.

He had enthusiasm for his work, posting on MySpace page under the moniker NYCFLYER “My airline affiliation allows me amazing travel privileges. And I love to max it out with trips around the world, sometimes on a moment’s notice! Let’s go!”

This March in a series of posts to online forum Airliners.net a user,  Skyliner747, who appears to be Slater took a swipe at passengers who try to bring on too many bags. “I hate to be a bag nazi when i work a flight, but I feel if I am not, then I am letting down all those who cooperate and [try] to help out as well, I am frustrated with many of them for their unrealistic approach regarding carry-ons.”

His attorney Howard Turman said Slater was personally affected by the events of TWA Flight 800 and the September 11 attacks. The lawyer pointed out that Slater was scheduled to work on the return voyage of Flight 800 and had lost a lot of friends from the disaster.

ROUGH TIME LINE

-Slater is an air steward on JetBlue Airways Flight 1052 from Pittsburgh to New York City’s John F. Kennedy International Airport  August 9, 2010.

-Mr Slater’s attorney, Howard Turman, said his client had been drawn into a fight between two female passengers over space in the overhead bins as the Pittsburgh-to-New York flight was awaiting takeoff. Somehow, Mr Slater was hit in the head, Mr Turman said.

-Passengers report turbulence during the flight was a bit more intense than typical, but nothing to be alarmed over.

-JetBlue Flight 1052 landed at Kennedy Airport in New York around 11:45am EDT

-A women who had been asked to gate-check her bag was reportedly furious that it wasn’t immediately available.

-According to a law enforcement official, Slater became upset after a passenger accessed the overhead luggage bins and ignored requests to sit down while the plane was still moving. The passenger hit Slater in the head with his luggage and when the passenger refused to apologise, Slater used the plane’s public address system to curse at everyone on the plane, the official said. When Slater asked for an apology, the passenger ”instead cursed at him,”

-According to his attorney Mr Turman, apparently the woman told Mr Slater to “f*** off” during the exchange. “The woman was outraged and cursed him out a great deal,” “At some point, I think he just wanted to avoid conflict with her.”

-Other reports state the trouble started when an impatient passenger jumped up before the seatbelt sign was turned off to grab her luggage after the plane landed at Kennedy International Airport. She reportedly ignored Slater when he told her to sit down, and when Slater approached the passenger to tell her again to sit down he got hit in the head with her falling bag. When he asked her to apologize she responded with a foul refusal, according to reports.

-Passengers report a flight attendant had been bleeding (unclear when this is observed)

-Slater then made a statement over the planes’s public address system, details on the statement vary

-Passenger Phil Catelinet, an eyewitness who posted at www.fiveguysproductions.com said he heard Mr Slater’s profanity-laced announcement over the public address system. “I didn’t take notes so the following is not exact, but a paraphrase: “F— you! F— all of you! I’m f—— through with this! I’VE HAD IT! I’ve been doing this for 28 f—— years and I can’t take it anymore. And for the f—– a—–who told me to f— off: f— you! That’s it! I’m done! F— you all! To the passenger who just called me a motherfucker: fuck you.  I’ve been in this business 28 years and I’ve had it.” He said Mr Slater ended by saying: “I’ve had it.”

-Other sources say he reportedly called a passenger a “f*cking assh**e” over his plane’s public address system

-According to prosecutors. Slater’s words over the plane’s loudspeaker included “Those of you who have shown dignity and respect these last 20 years, thanks for a great ride”

-Mr Slater then reportedly grabbed two beers from the galley and popped the lever for the airliner’s inflatable chute. After tossing his two carry-on bags on the slide, he slid down it onto the tarmac outside the terminal door.

-Slater then walked to the AirTrain, stripped off his company tie and flung it off as bemused passengers watched. One eyewitness saying “He seemed kind of happy about it. He was like, ‘I just quit my job.’ ”

-Passenger Phil Catelinet, posted “I got to the AirTrain terminal and the JetBlue flight attendant who’d made the announcement was there.  I recognized him from the flight; it looked like he had a cut on his forehead.  I recognized his voice when he started talking to another passenger from our flight about how he’d just had enough and quit his job.  Then he said something about someone using the emergency slide to get off the plane.  I still wasn’t sure what had happened.  I thought a passenger had taken the fun way out.

As we rode the AirTrain to Jamaica Station, he talked about how he’d been a flight attendant for 28 years and he was fed up with this passenger who had a bag problem.  He said something like “your bag’s right here!” and mimed pulling the emergency slide.  He also said that the plane would be out of service the rest of the day to have its emergency slide replaced.  I didn’t talk to him myself.  I stood there listening to his conversation with the other guy, phone in hand, ready to tweet.  When we got off at Jamaica, the flight attendant went one way (to the parking lot) and the other passenger walked with me toward the Long Island Rail Road.  I asked him if I’d heard correctly that this flight attendant had used the emergency slide to get off the plane, and he confirmed it.  That’s when I put this on Twitter:

JetBlue story: pissed-off lady demanded her bag, swore at FA. The FA swore back on intercom, quit job, left plane via emergency slide.”

-Port Authority police said it took jetBlue 25 minutes to report the incident, allowing Slater time to leave the scene.

-Cops found Slater in bed with his boyfriend when they arrived to arrest him at a beachfront home in the Rockaways. The home’s porch overlooks the Atlantic Ocean, sources said.

-Slater  boasted to skeptical cops that he really did escape by chute with his carry-on luggage. “Oh, yes, I did! I threw them down first and I went down after,” he told cops, sources said.

-He was grinning as police walked him in handcuffs to a squad car. “He left with a big smile on his face,” said neighbor Curt Karkowski.

-Other sources say Slater was wearing a sheepish smile when Port Authority detectives walked him to a waiting van a few hours after the incident.

-He was charged with charged with 2nd-and 4th-degree criminal mischief, 1st- and 2nd-degree reckless endangerment and criminal trespass in the 3rd degree.

-His bail was set at $2,500.00.

-Slater pleaded not guilty to the charges.

-Having failed to post bail, he was held at the Vernon C. Bain Correctional Center, a South Bronx jail on a floating barge.

-Bail was posted on August 10, and he was released that night.