Spirit Airlines flight attendant criticized for pictures taken in jet engine

South Florida-based airline says activity portrayed in photo goes against policy

PEMBROKE PARK, Fla. ā€“ A flight attendant for a South Florida-based airline is being criticized after pictures surfaced of her posing in her uniform in a jet engine on the tarmac at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport.

Some passengers on a Spirit Airlines flight departing from Chicago looked out the windows of the plane and saw the flight attendant standing on the tarmac, posing for photographs in front of the turbine blades.

One of the passengers contacted WLS-TV, the ABC affiliate in Chicago, after recording the flight attendant's name and learning that she had posted the pictures on her Facebook page.

Ericka Paige Diehl didn't reply to a request by ABC News for comment, but she told WLS that she wasn't "at liberty to discuss them."

POLL: Do you think the flight attendant should be disciplined for taking pictures in a jet engine?

"The activity portrayed in the photo absolutely goes against Spirit policy," airline spokeswoman Irisaida Mendez told Local10.com in an email. "We will be investigating further and take appropriate action."

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Heather Poole, a flight attendant and author of the New York Times bestseller "Cruising Attitude," addressed the controversy on Twitter.

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"The photo of the flight attendant in the engine isn't a problem," she posted on Twitter. "We all take them. The time that she decided to take it could be an issue."

The pictures were eventually removed from Facebook and replaced by an inspirational message that said, "Your wings already exist, all you have to do is fly."

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