Crazed staffer flees from emergency chute

Crazed staffer flees from emergency chute after F-word tirade against passenger

A JetBlue flight attendant, who lost his cool, shocked passengers when he hurled obscenities at them over the airliner's public address system before deploying the emergency chute and making his escape.

Steven Slater (39) rushed to his silver Jeep Wrangler parked in an employee lot and raced home to Belle Harbor, where Port Authority cops, who charged him with criminal mischief and reckless endangerment, arrested him.

The breakdown is said to have happened after an argument with a passenger, who sources say told Slater "to f''' off" after he was told not to remove baggage from the overhead compartment.

The passenger insisted on opening the overhead compartment, hitting Slater in the head with the door as it dropped down.

After the plane landed and pulled up to Gate 3 at the JetBlue terminal, and as passengers began moving to the door, Slater got on the public address system and launched into a tirade.

"To the f''''ing ass'''' that told me to f''' off, it's been a good 28 years!" the New York Post quoted law enforcement sources as revealing what Slater said.

He then grabbed a can of beer from the airline galley, popped the lever for the airliner's inflatable chute, and slid down to the tarmac outside the terminal door.

First Officer Scott Bienz, who heard Slater's tirade from the restroom, told investigators he tried to block the enraged flight attendant from getting to the emergency chute, but was unable to hold him back.

JetBlue has issued a statement confirming that an evacuation slide was deployed after the airliner arrived at the gate at JFK, adding that there were no injuries and all passengers safely exited through the jetway.

"At this time, we are working with the FAA and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey to investigate the incident," the statement read.