Woman Avoids Jail After Spitting On Passenger, Fleeing Down Emergency Slide At Chicago O’Hare

A Rochester, New York woman was allowed to avoid jail time after refusing to get off her cell phone, walking to the front of the aircraft and getting into an argument, and spitting on a passenger.

Then, after the American Airlines Chicago O’Hare to Buffalo flight operated by wholly-owned subsidiary Envoy Air turned around to head back to the gate, she pushed a flight attendant out of the way in order to access an emergency exit – opened the door and slid down the emergency slide.

A Buffalo Bills offensive tackle was on board the aircraft and shared a photo:

Apparently the 24 year old decided to make her getaway when she realized she was going to get in trouble. It’s never the crime, it’s the cover up. Had she just allowed herself to be offloaded, she’s unlikely to have even been arrested.

However the ordeal may have been worth the thrill of the evacuation slide, because she was allowed to plead to simple assault – receiving “time served and three years’ probation” and merely reimbursing $42,128 to American Airlines for its expenses. Popping those slides is expensive! Then again it may all have just been a last-minute reaction to boarding a flight to Buffalo.

The Department of Justice sent a press release, as though the plea deal is a victory, when it seems just to ‘set a price’ for those able to afford a once in a lifetime thrill. However, she missed the opportunity to grab a beer from the forward galley cart and pop it open as she peaced out.

About Gary Leff

Gary Leff is one of the foremost experts in the field of miles, points, and frequent business travel - a topic he has covered since 2002. Co-founder of frequent flyer community InsideFlyer.com, emcee of the Freddie Awards, and named one of the "World's Top Travel Experts" by Conde' Nast Traveler (2010-Present) Gary has been a guest on most major news media, profiled in several top print publications, and published broadly on the topic of consumer loyalty. More About Gary »

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Comments

  1. When are we going to hold people accountable for their actions?

    There should have at least been 6 months in jail, banned from flying any commerical airlines for 5 years and still payback what the penalty..

  2. A 24 yo with $42k? Guarantee it will never be paid. Would love to see a picture to confirm suspicions….

  3. “…flight to Buffalo.” Heh. My cousin lived there one winter when the lake effect snowstorms were really bad. He saw the mailbox flag was up and shoveled for 2 hours to get to the street. In the box was a postcard saying, “Hi Morty, hear you had a lot of snow. Love, Mom”.

    He moved.

  4. I am in total agreement with Tom’s & TLU’s comments above. That loser perp will likely NEVER pay AA the 42k, and therefore will not be “held accountable” for the crime/s she committed. What a shame.

  5. It’s madness that this person is facing no jail time. How’s that even possible?

  6. Gary, I’ve been a longtime reader of yours!

    Sincerely,

    Someone who lives in and boards flights to Buffalo!!!

  7. Gary, I’ve been to 75 countries and to all 50 states. You obviously don’t know Buffalo. A fantastic town with awesome people. You are better than that.

  8. She probably looked at her ticket and realized just then that she was going to ORD. A bit of an extreme reaction but I understand to a degree.

  9. Twice in two days Gary has managed to disappoint me lol ….. proud to be born and raised in Buffalo.

    Try not to go for three Gary.

  10. @Youngblood: You wrote,
    “I would negotiate to have that $42,128 count toward Loyalty Points.”
    So, if she popped five emergency evacuation slides, she could quickly earn ample Loyalty Points to earn American Airlines Executive Platinum elite status.

  11. I used to be a BUF local. Even would go to the SUNY campus there during my pre-teen years.

    Prefer the snow dumps in Buffalo to the heat and humidity I would get hit by while living in Texas or DC.

    The flight connectivity on legacy majors between ORD/MSP/DTW and BUF is not as good as it used to be.

  12. Avid reader. As someone born and raised in buffalo your basic joke makes us all laugh. I’ll be a less avid reader now

  13. To be honest the best part of buffalo is leaving and knowing I never have to go back.

  14. Skip the jail time. Have her do 1,000 hrs of community service at the SPCA cleaning cages , they need the help. Let her clean national parks of garbage 16 hrs a week for for 2 years.

    Jail time is paid by ME the taxpayer ….. We need HER to pay her own way pay it back to society.

  15. Puts a whole new meaning to the phrase “throw away ticketing”! In airline terminology..her tray table is not up and locked!
    Picard

  16. Hahaha. The narrative of this story has been that this was a flight from ORD to BUF but all other sources have it as a flight from BUF to ORD. A few days and the story remains the same. I wonder if the agreed upon reimbursement will ever be paid.

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