By Olivia Scheck
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
MANHATTAN — Steven Slater, the New York flight attendant, turned working man's hero, is hoping to strike a plea agreement with the Queens District Attorney's office, several newspapers reported Tuesday.
The 39-year-old became an internet sensation last month after he told off a difficult traveler over the plane's PA system, grabbed two beers, and escaped onto a JFK tarmac using the emergency chute.
Now, Slater, who has more than 200,000 Facebook fans, faces up to seven years in prison, charged with trespassing, reckless endangerment and criminal mischief, according to the New York Daily News.
The former flight attendant, who has reportedly been caring for his ill mother in California, kept quiet during a brief appearance in Queens court Tuesday morning, the News said.
Assistant District Attorney Benjamin Mantell emphasized the seriousness of Slater's crime following the hearing, insisting that he could have killed somebody when he deployed the plane's inflatable emergency slide, the News reported.
Still, Mantell and Slater's lawyer, Daniel Horwitz, said they would meet before his next scheduled court date on Oct. 19 to try to negotiate a plea bargain, according to the News and the New York Post.
Queens District Attorney Richard Brown noted that Slater might be able to avoid jail time altogether pending the results of a psychological evaluation, the News said.
"We'll see what this defendant's needs are," Brown told the paper.
