Steven Slater’s home burglarized by partner’s brother: insult added to injury

by Tom Johansmeyer on

If Steven Slater was going to use the cash under his mattress to repay JetBlue, he needs to put together another plan. The day after he plead guilty to a felony charges (which could be knocked down to misdemeanors in year), it was revealed that the former flight attendant‘s home was robbed.

John Rochelle, Slater’s partner’s brother, is accused of having absconded with a laptop, printer and microwave on October 14, 2010, reports MSNBC. Rochelle is waiting to be arraigned on second-degree burglary chares. Queens District Attorney Richard Brown is calling it a “crime of opportunity.”

Howard Bragman, Slater’s publicist, said the former flight attendant didn’t have anything to say about it.

As part of his plea agreement, Slater has to pay JetBlue $10,000 to compensate for the costs he generated when dropping the emergency slide.

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Flight attendants find dead Filipino passenger in Gulf Air lavatory

by Tom Johansmeyer on

The cause of death – including suicide – still isn’t clear, but the facts are. Gulf Air flight attendants found a 36-year-old Filipino passenger dead in the plane lav today; he was flying home to Manila from Bahrain. Attempts to revive him using CPR were unsuccessful.

The event occurred on Gulf Air flight 154, and is the second strange lav event in as many months. In September, according to the Associated Press, an abandoned baby was found in the trash bin after a Filipino maid gave birth in the lav. This time, however, the outcome was life, as airport doctors were able to save the child.

The passenger‘s wife and relatives had traveled to the airport to meet him.

[photo by advencap via Flickr]

Former JetBlue Flight Attendant Steven Slater pleads guilty

by Tom Johansmeyer on

For putting lives at risk – rather hypocritical for a person who’s supposed to be in the “safety business” – he faced felony charges for criminal mischief, reckless endangerment and trespassing. He faced up to seven years in prison.

By pleading guilty, Slater will only serve a year in a mental health and alcohol/substance abuse treatment center, instead of the one-to-three-year sentence he was staring down. Upon successful completion of the program, the charges are knocked down to misdemeanors. He’ll also have a year of probation.

[Image credit: AP Photo/Louis Lanzano]


As expected, the notorious nutjob who popped the emergency slide after an altercation with a passenger has entered a guilty plea. Former JetBlue flight attendant Steven Slater grabbed some beer for the road before sliding to glory.

According to MSNBC, the district attorney indicated that alcohol was involved in the incident on the JetBlue plane, even before he grabbed the Blue Moons for the drive back to his Queens home.

Slater said after leaving the courthouse that he found the public interest “surprising, unexpected and encouraging.”

Really? Surprising? Unexpected? I can see how he’d call it encouraging … if he was only paying attention to the airline business supporters who believed him to be a hero. Meanwhile, it looks like dealing with passengers really did drive him to insanity.

Flight attendant Steven Slater may avoid jail

by Tom Johansmeyer on

Steven Slater, the JetBlue flight attendant who popped the slide and grabbed a beer after an altercation with a passenger, is scheduled to appear in court today. According to a report on Fox 5 New York (broadcast), he’s expected to plead guilty. The Associated Press reports that he may be eligible for an alternative sentencing program, such as treatment or community service (depending on his mental health evaluation). Maybe this means he won’t be a hero to flight attendants and other aviation professionals any longer.

In case you missed it:

The incident occurred Aug. 9 aboard a JetBlue Airways Corp. flight from Pittsburgh that had just landed at Kennedy International Airport. Slater got on the plane’s loudspeaker, cursed at passengers, then slid down the plane’s emergency slide.

The crazy flight attendant no longer works for JetBlue, having resigned. A career in reality television seems unlikely. I do wonder, though, if he’ll celebrate Halloween dressed as himself.

Delta to flight attendants: come back!

by Tom Johansmeyer on

Delta’s looking for 1,000 flight attendants, some of whom will be furloughed workers recalled for international assignments. Some will be new hires. But, it’s going to take some time get them in the door: they’ll be working the aisles by the middle of 2011. In particular, the airline is looking for flight attendants fluent in Japanese and Mandarin, which narrows the field a bit.

Delta already has 20,000 flight attendant, and they are currently in the process of deciding whether to be represented by the Association of Flight Attendants union.

The hiring at Delta follows a similar move by American Airlines, which is recalling close to 800 flight attendants who were furloughed and pilots to help accommodate network expansion internationally.

So, those baggage fees are paying off for a few people!

[photo by Augapfel via Flickr]