A flight attendant became so angry at a rude passenger upon landing Monday that he cursed out 100 travellers on the plane's PA system and then escaped by activating -- then using -- the jet's emergency slide, police said.

The meltdown occurred at Kennedy International Airport shortly after a JetBlue flight from Pittsburgh landed around 12 p.m., according to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey police.

After leaping from the plane, the flight attendant ran to a car he had parked at the airport and drove to his home in Queens, officials said. He was arrested at his home shortly after.

The agency said that the scuffle broke out just after landing, when a passenger got up and began to grab his luggage from the overhead compartment before it was safe to do so.

When the flight attendant asked him to sit down, the passenger refused and continued to pull down his luggage.

Just as the flight attendant approached to confront the passenger, the luggage fell from above and struck the attendant in the head.

The passenger refused to apologize and instead cursed at the attendant, which sent him into a rage.

The attendant then used the plane's microphone to launch into a profanity-laced tirade, cursing the plane's passengers. He then activated the plane's emergency slide and leapt to the ground, police said.

Steven Slater, 39, has been charged with criminal mischief and reckless endangerment.

On his MySpage page, Slater has several photos of himself working on jets, and he lists extensive experience in the profession.

The MySpace profile states that Slater began working as a flight attendant in 1990 with SkyWest Airlines. According to the page, he resumed his airborne work with in 2002.

"Back flying after five years off the job and having a ball. If I am on the ground, I am probably in my humble home in the 'burbs doing something domestic and trite, like vacuuming," he writes on the page.

JetBlue said in a statement that none of the flight's passengers were ever in danger during the incident.

With files from The Associated Press