Steven Slater: The JetBlue Flight Attendant Goes From Hero To Possible Zero In 24 Hours

Hero or zero?

Only Thursday we were marveling at the speed at which a Thousand Oaks flight attendant named Steven Slater became a national hero for giving the verbal finger to an allegedly abusive passenger aboard a JetBlue flight. Just as fast, however, his story of take-this-job-and-shove-it heroism -- he set off an emergency exit chute and departed the plane following a flurry of P.A.-system F.U.s -- appears to be deflating.

The New York Daily News reports that Port Authority police interviewed about 40 passengers aboard Monday's flight 1052 from Pittsburgh to New York's Kennedy Airport and ... (hold your breath) ...

"haven't found anyone who backs up Slater's story."

In fact, it's looking more and more like the 38-year-old Slater might have been the one who was the jerk. His side of the story was that a passenger cursed at him and hit him with a piece of luggage that was in or headed to an overhead compartment.

But no one else who was aboard the plane seems to be able to back that claim up, and some indicate that Slater appeared to be headed toward a chip-on-his-shoulder meltdown the whole flight.

Passenger Lauren Dominijanni, 25, told the Wall Street Journal that Slater rolled his eyes and was rude when she asked for a "wipe" to clean up a coffee spill: "No!," she said he said. "Maybe when we get in the air! I need to take care of myself first, honey!"