Steven Slater wore a slight smile Tuesday as he was led into a Queens courtroom to be arraigned on charges of criminal mischief, reckless endangerment and trespassing. The judge set his bail at $2,500, but it wasn't immediately clear when Slater might be able to post the money.
Police and prosecutors said the 38-year-old airline industry veteran lost his temper Monday afternoon after a dispute with a passenger, and then fled the parked jet by deploying the emergency chute and walking across the tarmac to an unlocked door that led to the street.
At the arraignment, defense attorney Howard Turman said Slater was under stress because his mother has lung cancer. Afterward, he provided reporters with a different account of what happened aboard the aircraft than the version initially offered by authorities.
Police had said Slater became when after a rule-breaking passenger defied requests to stay seated then accidentally hit him in the head with her luggage.
Turman said the dispute had begun earlier, when the flight was still waiting to take off from Pittsburgh, when two female passengers got into an argument over space in the overhead bins. That's when Slater was struck in the head, Turman said.
The dispute flared up again after the plane landed in New York when one of the women, who had been asked to gate-check her bag, was enraged that it wasn't immediately available.
"The woman was outraged and cursed him out a great deal," Turman said. "At some point, I think he just wanted to avoid conflict with her."
Prosecutors said that at some point, Slater addressed the passengers on the intercom.
"Those of you who have shown dignity and respect these last 20 years, thanks for a great ride," he said, according to prosecutors.
Slater's actions drew some sympathy from the public.
By late morning, more than 13,000 people had "liked" a Facebook page set up in his honor, and commenters were lauding the flight attendant's stand and calling for the arrest of the disobedient passenger.
Passenger Phil Catelinet said he heard the profanity-laced announcement on Flight 1052, which he said ended with Slater saying, "I've had it." He described the announcement as "the most interesting part of the day to that point," but didn't see Slater use the exit slide or grab the beer.
It wasn't until he saw Slater on an airport train and overheard him talking about the escapade that he put it all together.
"He was smiling. He was happy he'd done this," Catelinet told NBC's "Today."
Slater appeared "pretty relieved" and "seemed like he was looking forward to whatever comes next careerwise," Catelinet told CBS' "Early Show."
Slater, 39, was arrested at his home in the Belle Harbor section of Queens by Port Authority of New York and New Jersey police. A woman who answered a phone at his previous residence in Thousand Oaks, Calif., identified herself as his mother but said she wasn't speaking to the media.
JetBlue Airways Corp. said in a statement that it was working with the Federal Aviation Administration and Port Authority police to investigate. It said the safety of its customers and crew members was never at risk.
