Flight Attendant Deploys Slide, Exits Plane on Her Own

Maybe she had some place to be? A flight attendant's unique exit from a plane at a Houston airport is all the buzz Tuesday. As video posted by Click2Houston shows, the unidentified woman deployed the emergency slide, tossed a bag to the tarmac, and then expertly slid down the chute before calmly walking away at Bush Intercontinental Airport. Why she did so remains unclear, but United Airlines says she has been removed from flying duties while it investigates what happened, reports NBC DFW.

The woman had been working Flight 1246, which had just pulled up to its gate after a flight from Sacramento Monday. Passengers on the plane apparently didn't realize what she was doing because they were distracted by a medical emergency in the back—a man having difficultly breathing needed to be taken off in a wheelchair, reports Click2Houston. Whatever her reasons, the stunt will be costly for United: Business Insider reports that it costs $6,000 to $12,000 to repack a deployed slide, and more than double that if it was damaged. (The incident brings to mind a similar move by JetBlue's Steven Slater.)