United Flight Attendant Pulled Emergency Slide, Quits Job

A United Airlines flight was parked at its gate at George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston yesterday morning. When for some reason, one of the flight attendants pulled the emergency door.

The Boeing 737 had just landed from Sacremento and taxied to its gate when the unnamed attendant opened the front door, released the emergency slide, slid down it and walked away.

Many of 159 passengers had no idea that anything had happened. "When we landed we were told to stay in our seats as deplaning would take a bit longer," passenger Jonah Vella told Click 2 Houston, "Everything seemed to be pretty standard."

United Airlines issued the following statement: "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 is reviewing the matter and they have removed the employee from her flying duties."