Investigators Question Attendant's Tale

[mike r]

Source: Wall Street Journal

Investigators probing the circumstances surrounding a JetBlue flight attendant's outburst and exit from a plane at Kennedy Airport are beginning to question the narrative that he was provoked by an injury suffered during a confrontation with an unruly passenger, according to Port Authority officials with knowledge of the investigation.

The officials said Steven Slater's assertion that he was hit in the head by luggage or an overhead bin door while trying to assist an abusive passenger with her oversize bag isn't being corroborated by other passengers. Investigators believe such a passenger may not exist and that he could have received the gash on his forehead before he boarded the flight in Pittsburgh...

Port Authority police have been interviewing passengers since the incident Monday when Mr. Slater delivered an expletive-laced resignation from his job on the flight's public-address system before leaving the jet on the inflatable emergency chute in the back of the plane, officials said. So far, none of the passengers interviewed told police that they witnessed Mr. Slater being injured, said a law-enforcement official with knowledge of the case.

"I think this is moving toward a working theory of it never happened," he said. "There are some people who have said he came on board the aircraft with injuries."



Read more: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704407804575425923145773264.html

[napi21]

1. That he came onboard with the injury is unlikely IMO. Two of the

passengers said his wound looked still wet although they hadn't seen it happen. A wound doesn't stay WET for very long & there's enough prep time on the aircraft before any passengers ever board that the blood would have dried.

He was wrong to do what he did & I'm sure he knows that, but I think most passengers don't pay any attention to what's going on onboard an aircraft unless it happens directly near them Even then some don't unless it's THEM!

He won't get his job back no matter what happens with his trial, and that's as it should be. He slammed & disgraced the airline by what he did I hope he doesn't get any jali time though The worst accusation I've heard was that deploying the slide could have injured the groud crew. Hardly if at all. THe worst that clould have happened was that someone got knocked to the ground.

[murielm99]

2. I saw his ex-wife on TV tonight.

She was supportive of him. She felt that it would take a lot to provoke him.

Apparently they were married very briefly at age eighteen. It wasn't the right thing, but they don't hate each other. She has never met her former husband's boyfriend.

[Breathe]

6. Source: Wall Street Journal

Since the Journal was bought by Rupert Murdoch it has become even more pro-business, anti-worker than they were before. Every story they've done on this has been critical of the flight attendant. One quoted three anonymous resources who basically said, "I didn't really see anything but he didn't bring me a napkin when I wanted one." They are trying to set him up.

If the source is the Wall Street Journal, I move along. There are reputable news sources out there. The Wall Street Journal is no longer one of them.

[dencol]

8. I slide can feasibly kill somebody.

I have actually seen one accidentally deploy at the gate, and if you happen to be under it when it deploys, you wouldn't really have time to get out of the way and it really could kill somebody. However, this guy said he checked and it seemed to be in a place where it wouldn't have harmed anybody... they're just piling on with that allegation.

[napi21]

9. I stated that it likely WOULDN'T really hurt anyone based upon a caller to I think it was Ed Schultz

radio show who was a retired aircraft maintenance manager. He explained that he's seen many sides deployed and the worst injury that would happen is that a person would get knocked down. If hurt, it would be from hitting the ground not, from the slide.

[Tunkamerica]

3. Ask a planeful of people what happened and

you'll get a planeful of different stories.

[napi21]

4. Absolutely! Same thing when something happens in any crowd

of people.

I've flown quite a bit & I've seen passengers treat flight attendants horribly. They seem to feel like they have a group of servants that they can treat any way they want without any reprocussions.

I'm not excusing what the FA did because his job is to remain calm and in control all the time, but I sure can understand how any human can "JUST HAVE ENOUGH"!

[Tunkamerica]

5. If he got hit in the head and cussed out the passenger should be brought up on assault and battery

charges.

[Turbineguy]

7. The Flight Attendants

are the buffer between airline management policy and the consequences of that policy.