A United Airlines flight attendant mysteriously broke a huge rule and cost the airline a ton of money

A United Airlines flight attendant intentionally deployed the emergency slide on a Boeing 737 yesterday in Houston.

The incident occurred around noon as United Flight 1246 pulled into the gate after arriving from Sacramento.

According to United Airlines, a female member of the cabin crew deliberately opened the right front door of the jet, deployed the emergency evacuation chute, and jumped out of the aircraft. 

The airline has since removed the flight attendant from flight duties and has reviewed footage of the incident with the employee.

However, United has not revealed what caused the flight attendant engage in the mysterious act. 

Although there was a medical situation reported on board the flight, it was unrelated to the incident, United told Business Insider. 

Fortunately for passengers, flight operations at Houston's George Bush Intercontinental Airport were not delayed by the incident. The Boeing 737-900 was taken out of service and the slide was refitted on the aircraft. 

However, the incident was not exactly free for the airline. It could cost anywhere from $6,000 to $12,000 just to repack an undamaged slide into its container. The bill to repair and repack a damaged slide could run as high as $30,000.