Steven Slater Facebook Fan Site “I Hate The MotherF**er That Called Steven Slater A MotherF**er”
Most airlines don’t have this kind of in-flight entertainment.
Steven Slater, the JetBlue flight attendant who lost his temper in a fight with an agitated traveler Monday, was released from jail in the Bronx Tuesday night after posting his $2,500 bail. Slater stated that he “greatly appreciated” the support he has received.
“It seems like something here has resonated with a few people. And that’s kinda neat,” Slater told the Associated Press and other reporters as he left the lockup.
Sentiment online appeared to fall with Slater. According to a report at the Daily Record, by early Tuesday afternoon, more than 20,000 people were supporters of Slater on Facebook, and the number was growing by thousands every hour. At least one fan set up a legal fund for him.
NYPD commissioner Ray Kelly, who clearly isn’t going to be joining any Slater-championing Facebook groups anytime soon, told nymag.com “It’s a strange way to quit, let’s put it that way,” Kelly said. “I don’t think he’ll be able to come back.”
“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,” Slater wrote several months ago on Airliners.net, an aviation Web site.
“Overwhelmingly people said it should have been the passenger who was ejected from the plane,” said George Hobica, founder of AirfareWatchdog.com, speaking about response to his site’s blog on the incident. “I’ve never seen such an outpouring of support for a flight attendant.”
Slater’s attorney, Howard Turman, said after JetBlue Flight 1052 landed in New York, one of the women who had been asked to gate-check her bag was enraged that it wasn’t immediately available, Turman said.
“The woman was outraged and cursed him out a great deal,” Turman said. “At some point, I think he just wanted to avoid conflict with her.”
That’s when he deployed the slide, Turman said. A spokesman for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which controls the airport, said Slater took at least one beer from the plane galley on his way out.
Prosecutors said Slater’s actions could have been deadly if ground crew workers had been hit by the emergency slide, which deploys with a force of 3,000 pounds per square inch. Turman said Slater had opened the hatch and made sure no one was in the slide’s path before deploying it.
Slater said he had had long dreamed of using an airplane escape chute. But he never thought he would have the nerve.
“For 20 years, I thought about it,” he said to the New York Times. That’s how long he’s been in the industry. “But you never think you’re going to do it.”
JetBlue spokesman Mateo Lleras said Slater had been removed from duty pending an investigation. Prosecutors said no criminal allegations had been made against the passenger.
Slater’s mother, Diane, seemed to be proud of her son for his outburst.
“I can understand why he snapped. I would have snapped too,” Diane Slater said to nbcnewyork.com Tuesday after Steven pleaded not guilty to the various charges against him. “I think he just had a very small meltdown, and I think he deserve to be able to have that meltdown.”
Asked about his plans, Slater cryptically said to the New York Post, “I have some things lined up,” adding that he was looking forward to “a little down time, a little beach time, enjoying the rest of the summer.”
Slater’s next court appearance is scheduled for September 7.
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