The plot thickens: Investigators now doubt Slater was injured on flight

The officials said Steven Slater’s assertion that he was hit in the head by luggage or an overhead bin door while trying to assist an abusive passenger with her oversize bag isn’t being corroborated by other passengers. Investigators believe such a passenger may not exist and that he could have received the gash on his forehead before he boarded the flight in Pittsburgh…

“I think this is moving toward a working theory of it never happened,” he said. “There are some people who have said he came on board the aircraft with injuries.”

Officers involved in Mr. Slater’s arrest say when they arrived at his Queens home about an hour after he grabbed two beers and hit the chute that his eyes were blood shot, he smelled of alcohol and was unsteady on his feet, the official said.