The myth grew on the internet social media that Steven Slater's tantrum of screaming profanities through the public address system on board the Jet Blue aircraft and escaping through the inflatable emergency exit (with two beers) could be supported as the act of a job-burnout, and as a laudable response against working-class oppression in a recessive economy. However, subsequent investigation until now has left almost both sides of the story between Steven Slater and Jet Blue open though the balance is against Slater.
Steven Slater, the flight attendant claimed that on flight 1052 of Jet Blue, travelling from Pittsburgh to New York City on August 9, 2010, at the beginning of the flight, two female passengers had an altercation over placing their bags in the overhead bin. The dispute supposedly flared again when one of the passengers wanted access to her bag but was denied on the grounds that the overhead bin can't be opened until the aircraft stops. Supposedly, the passenger cursed Steven Slater, who was the flight attendant, and in a scuffle for the bag, Slater was hit on the head by the door of the bin. A peeved Slater reacted by shouting profanities on the public address system, and saying that it's been 28 years, and he was quitting after having enough. He then used the aircrafts emergency exit illegally to get off board.
Investigations in the Steven Slater and Jet Blue incident, until now has not found any passenger or other crewmember who has corroborated Slater's part of the story. On the other hand, doubts continue in favor of Steven Slater as Jet Blue refused to hand over videos of the incident in spite of repeated requests by the Port Authority.
However, the incident of Steven Slater has served to draw public attention to the working conditions of a flight attendant and the constraints of playing the snack server at one moment and a rule enforcer on the next. The Steven Slater and Jet Blue incident has also brought public sympathy for flight attendants who continue working long hours at low wages and also need to tolerate uncivil behavior from rude passengers.
For jobseekers and workers, the Steven Slater and Jet Blue incident serves as a classic example of a man flying off his handle due to job-burnout, and reacting in a manner sufficient to lose his job and attract criminal charges. Feeling fade up with a job is not abnormal, but one should quit before exhausting tolerance and seek other jobs that provide a better way of living.
Steven Slater, as a flight attendant definitely broke rules and neglected protocol and duties to his own detriment. The situation could have been explained and justified against the presence of grievous provocation, as claimed by Slater, but lack of corroboration by both other passengers and his colleagues makes his side of the story suspect.
