Not One Passenger On Flight Backs Up Slater's Story

Former JetBlue flight attendant Steven Slater was a folk hero for longer than most of us will ever be, but his status fell fast as passengers on the now-famous flight told their side of the story. And now the Wall Street Journal reports that following investigations by two agencies, during which time every single passenger and crew member were interviewed, no one on board the flight backed up Slater's story.

Slater had claimed he took to the intercom after a passenger was rude to him, he declared: "To the passenger who called me a motherfucker, fuck you. I've been in the business 28 years. I've had it. That's it." And then grabbed a couple beers and slid down the emergency slide he activated.

The Port Authority police say that "absolutely no one" corroborated his story, and some found him to be belligerent during the flight. A spokesman added, "This department spent a lot of time and money on this. He got his 15 minutes of fame, everyone became enamored with him but his story is totally uncorroborated by witness accounts." Slater's lawyer says, "I'm not going to discuss what happened that day. We're dealing with that in the court of law" (on October 19th).

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By Jen Carlson in News on September 9, 2010 1:38 PM

Comments [rss]

JacqueMehoff

wasn't it that long ago when almost everyone were singing jetblue's praises.

kevin

I flew on Jet Blue this holiday weekend. On the way back, I found the attendants to be quite rude. I was just sitting there minding my business, when a flight attendant taps me on the shoulder (I was the only person in my row, the flight had a lot of empty seats) and points to my suitcase in the overhead bin and asks gruffly "Is this yours?" I said yes, to which he replied: "You need to put this in vertically, with the wheels facing out. Are you too selfish to want others to be able to put their bags in too?" I was surprised, but just ignored him and put my earphones back in, but it was extremely rude. The same guy was also quite rude during the safety presentation when someone wasn't paying attention, and the woman who came around for drink orders wasn't exactly pleasant. What's going on with Jet Blue these days? Are they really overworked or something? Most flight attendants I have come across are generally very pleasant, with a "bad" one not being cheerful, but never hostile.

Its rather strange, I used to fly Jet Blue because it was cheap, nice, and generally everything that the big airlines weren't (IE they refrained from nickel and diming). They don't seem to have any of those things going for it anymore.

Jen S

Ugh, I'm flying JetBlue tomorrow.

kevin

I flew on Jet Blue this holiday weekend. On the way back, I found the attendants to be quite rude. I was just sitting there minding my business, when a flight attendant taps me on the shoulder (I was the only person in my row, the flight had a lot of empty seats) and points to my suitcase in the overhead bin and asks gruffly "Is this yours?" I said yes, to which he replied: "You need to put this in vertically, with the wheels facing out. Are you too selfish to want others to be able to put their bags in too?" I was surprised, but just ignored him and put my earphones back in, but it was extremely rude. The same guy was also quite rude during the safety presentation when someone wasn't paying attention, and the woman who came around for drink orders wasn't exactly pleasant. What's going on with Jet Blue these days? Are they really overworked or something? Most flight attendants I have come across are generally very pleasant, with a "bad" one not being cheerful, but never hostile.

Its rather strange, I used to fly Jet Blue because it was cheap, nice, and generally everything that the big airlines weren't (IE they refrained from nickel and diming). They don't seem to have any of those things going for it anymore.

Tuna Loaf

Gosh, what an ordeal! The only thing more boring than hearing about peoples' dreams is hearing about their flight hassles.

grandzu

Jen didn't read the story that well either, as that quote is from his publicist, not his lawyer.

A call to Mr. Slater's current lawyer, Daniel Horwitz, was returned by Howard Bragman, Mr. Slater's publicist. "I'm not going to discuss what happened that day," Mr. Bragman said. "We're dealing with that in the court of law."

Lost in Space

So, now not one passenger would say that he said these words? Where did they come from in the first place then? I re-read the coverage about this here and in the Daily News and nowhere was it made clear where the information came from. Gothamist just said "we got word" and the Daily News just cited a cop.

Ethan

Buh-bye. Buh-bye.

camera_club

he's more of a hero to me now that I know he was completely unprovoked and was simply sick of his job, got drunk and slid away to freedom with a cold one in his hand

airtech1

But his slide isn't on YouTube, so it must not be real.

snickerdoodle

I'm tired of these Balloon Boy-type fraudsters seeking their 15 minutes of fame. That pastor in Florida who claims he'll burn quarans is another publicity seeking instigator who's got the whole world in a frenzy and he's loving every minute of it.

It's high time for the media to ignore these agitators and not give them the free publicity and soapbox that they seek.

JenChungsBaby

Hooray! Can we stop treating this drama queen like a populist working man's hero now?

Guest

And then grabbed a couple beers and slid down the emergency slide he activated.

omg, he is barney gumble.

Guest

Barney: It begins...!

---

Assistant: I don't understand it, that was non-alcoholic champagne.

MidC Frank

Oops -- should have read the WSJ articel BEFORE commenting. Still, I find something fishy/missing here. If the guy was acting so erratically, why didn't his fellow atttendants intervene?