Flight attendant accused of cursing passenger, sliding down emergency chute due in NY court

Flight attendant in passenger tiff due in NY court

NEW YORK — A former JetBlue flight attendant accused of cursing out an airplane passenger and then sliding down an emergency exit chute is due in a New York City courtroom.

Steven Slater is scheduled to appear Tuesday for a routine hearing on criminal-mischief charges.

Slater also was charged with reckless endangerment and trespassing after last month’s meltdown aboard a JetBlue Airways Corp. flight from Pittsburgh that had just landed at John F. Kennedy International Airport. His lawyer has said the passenger’s “lack of civility” prompted his behavior.

Defense attorney Daniel J. Horwitz says Slater is looking forward to his day in court.

Slater became water cooler talk for days after his Aug. 9 meltdown. Online groups canonized him as a hero or vilified him as a cranky brat.

He left JetBlue last week.