Exit-chute US flight attendant to undergo psychological evaluation

Sep 8, 2010, 14:08 GMT

New York - The exasperated flight attendant who slid off a plane via its exit chute after a fight with a passenger in August is to be evaluated by a psychologist, the broadcaster ABC reported Wednesday, following a court hearing on the case in the United States.

US media reported that Steven Slater, who became a viral folk hero on the internet after the stunt, had been under a great amount of stress due to his mother's battle with a serious illness, the recent death of his father and his own health problems.

Prosecutor Richard Brown said the psychiatric evaluation was requested by Slater at Tuesday's hearing, ABC reported.

Slater's defence attorneys are said to be negotiating a plea deal behind closed doors.

The 38-year-old has been charged with criminal mischief and reckless endangerment. He faces up to seven years in prison.

Slater's grand exit from a JetBlue airliner came after the plane from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, landed in New York City.

One of the passengers had stood up and opened the overhead luggage bin before the plane stopped moving. When Slater asked her to sit down, she refused, and the carry-on baggage fell out and struck him on the head, reports at the time said.

At that point, Slater reportedly grabbed the plane's microphone, announced 'I'm done! I quit,' used some foul language, deployed the exit chute and dropped out of the plane. On his way out, he grabbed a beer from the drink cart.

Slater is then said to have driven home, where he was arrested. Officials say that the chute not only cost thousands of dollars, but could also have hurt someone on the ground when it deployed.

'I've been very much troubled by the fact that both the defendant and the media have been trivializing that which occurred,' Brown was quoted as saying by ABC. 'Deploying an emergency escape chute on an aircraft filled with passengers is no laughing matter.'

JetBlue and Slater have since parted ways. His attorney said Slater's departure was voluntary, ABC reported.