A former flight attendant with the JetBlue airline has escaped a prison sentence despite using the emergency chute to leave an aircraft after it had landed at JFK Airport in New York in August.
Steven Slater pleaded guilty to two counts of criminal mischief and was ordered to undergo a year-long counselling programme.
The 38-year-old received worldwide media attention after a confrontation with a passenger.
Slater was working on a JetBlue flight from Pittsburgh to New York that had just landed when he became involved in a row with a passenger.
The flight attendant told passengers to remain seated upon landing. But when a passenger started collecting belongings from the overhead bin, disregarding the instructions, Slater tried to stop the passenger but was hit on the head by the luggage bin and became irate.
Slater asked for an apology, but instead was cursed at by the passenger. The steward then grabbed the public address system and swore at all on board the plane.
He activated the inflatable evacuation chute and took a beer from the galley before jumping on the slide.
He ran to his car in the employee car park and left the airport.
The flight attendant was arrested shortly after at his home in Queens.
