By Jennifer Glickel
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
MANHATTAN — JetBlue flight attendant and Internet sensation Steven Slater pleaded not guilty Tuesday to charges related to his dramatic emergency chute exit from a plane at JFK Airport.
Slater, 39, was arrested Monday and charged with reckless endangerment, criminal mischief and criminal trespass in a Queens criminal court on Tuesday. He was released on $2,500 bail.
Slater got into a confrontation Monday with a female passenger shortly after the JetBlue plane landed at JFK. After a verbal exchange with the passenger, Slater apparently took to the jet's PA system.
"To the f---ing ass---- that told me to f--- off, it's been a good 28 years!" Slater announced, according to the New York Post.
The 39-year-old airline veteran then reportedly grabbed a beer from the galley, pulled the lever for the plane's inflatable chute and slid down to the tarmac below.
Slater's tirade and impromptu exit have made him an Internet celebrity.
"I think he can't believe the amount of attention he's getting," Slater's lawyer Howard Turman told reporters Tuesday.
Slater has become something of a hero to people around the country who'd love to quit their jobs in similar dramatic fashion.
“This JetBlue flight attendant that cursed out a passenger and bailed on the emergency exit is my new hero,” wrote Twitter user DirtRubsOff.
Not only was Slater’s story the top trending topic on Twitter in various cities, but also a rapidly growing Facebook page in his honor has taken hold. As of 1 p.m. Tuesday afternoon, Slater had more than 23,000 fans on Facebook. On Monday night, he had little more than 400.
Slater’s fans created a website in his honor called FreeStevenSlater.com and a Steven Slater Legal Defense Fund was also created to collect donations via PayPal. Free Steven Slater T-shirts were also available for purchase already.
One Twitter user thought cops arrested the wrong person in the situation.
"They needed to arrest the unruly passenger lady who started this mess instead of the JetBlue Flight attendant Steven Slater," user nice1dave wrote on Tuesday afternoon. "Free Slater!"
