(CNN) – Maddie Peters had never spilled a drink on a flight in her four years of being a flight attendant for American Airlines. That is, until the airline’s CEO was on board.
Before a flight from Phoenix, Arizona, to Dallas earlier this month, Peters and her fellow flight attendants were told that American Airlines CEO Doug Parker and a few other executives would be on board.
While carrying a full tray of drinks she was serving first class passengers while others boarded, a passenger in front of her abruptly stopped and backed into her tray. The drinks “went flying,” she said.
“It happened in slow motion,” she told CNN. “I was frozen in the aisle.”
Half of the drinks fell on Peters and the other half spilled on none other than Parker. She was “mortified” by her mistake, she said.
“It’s one of the most embarrassing things that’s ever happened to me,” Peters said.
Jill Surdek, the vice president of flight services, who was a few rows behind Parker rushed to help after seeing the spill and helped her get herself together. After cleaning herself up, Peters continued her work as usual the rest of the flight.
“All you can do is laugh it off,” the 28-year-old said.
Luckily for Peters, Parker had a similar attitude. He was “super cool and a good sport” about the situation. He came back later into the flight to assure Peters that her mishap was no big deal and snap a photo that she posted on social media.
Peters took to Instagram to share the story because “it’s too good of a story not to tell.”
Parker called her after seeing how popular her story has gotten. He was surprised it was being talked about so much since he thought the incident was no big deal. Peters says he was supportive of her sharing her embarrassing moment with the world.
“Most people never even meet their CEO let alone shower them with beverages,” Peters wrote on Instagram. “Accidents happen.”
