Flight attendant accused of cursing passenger, sliding down exit chute works on NY plea deal

Flight attendant in passenger tiff mulls plea deal

NEW YORK — A former JetBlue flight attendant accused of cursing out a passenger and sliding down an emergency exit chute is working on a plea deal, attorneys on both sides said Tuesday.

Steven Slater, looking straight ahead with his chin held high, did not speak during his brief appearance in Queens on criminal mischief charges.

Slater also was charged with reckless endangerment and trespassing after last month’s meltdown aboard a JetBlue flight from Pittsburgh that had just landed at Kennedy International Airport.

Defense attorney Daniel J. Horwitz has said the passenger’s “lack of civility” prompted his behavior.

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.

Horwitz said he’s working to resolve the situation “favorably” but had no further comment.

Slater’s publicist, Howard Bragman, said they’d look at possible employment opportunities after the case is completed.

Bragman said Slater has spent the past few weeks visiting his mother in California. “He’s doing great, all things considered,” Bragman said.

After the hearing, Slater — still looking straight ahead and ignoring journalists’ shouts — stepped into a waiting car and pulled away.

Horowitz said Sunday that Slater quit his job at the Queens-based JetBlue Airways Corp. last Wednesday, after he had been suspended following the on-board antics he was charged with committing. JetBlue had said Saturday that Slater was no longer an employee but didn’t give any details, which prompted online speculation he had been fired.