A United Airlines flight attendant deployed the emergency evacuation slide at Houston's Bush Intercontinental Airport and slid down it to exit the airplane Monday, leaving passengers and onlookers puzzled.
KPRC-TV identified the flight attendant as Julia Price, and said the Federal Aviation Administration is investigating the incident, which happened around noon Monday when Flight 1246 arrived in Houston from Sacramento.
“After the chute deployed, Price first throws her bag to the ground nearly 15 feet below and then she slides down the inflated slide to depart the aircraft,” the local station reported.
The airline didn’t officially release the flight attendant’s name and other media reports did not include it. She has since been removed from her duties, according to reports.
"It is our understanding that she deployed it intentionally," said
United Airlines spokesman Charlie Hobart, according to Reuters.
The flight included 159 passengers and six crew members. No one was injured, and all others exited the plane without incident.
“We hold all of our employees to the highest standard. The unsafe behavior is unacceptable and does not represent the more than 20,000 flight attendants who ensure the safety of our customers,”
United Airlines said in a statement, according to The Sacramento Bee.
KPRC-TV said Price’s family told the station that she is doing well and declined to comment.
Some passengers expressed surprise at the incident, as it appeared no immediate emergency existed that would lead Price to deploy the slide.
"That's insane. Why?" traveler Sharon Lovedahl told the station. "Why would she do that?"
Others didn’t notice the flight attendant exit via the emergency slide, instead focusing on a medical emergency in which a man at the back of the plane was having trouble breathing and was escorted out on a wheelchair, the station reported.
Twitter users shared mixed reactions to the stunt.
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