Flight attendant deploys emergency evacuation slide in Houston

HOUSTON-- United Airlines says a flight attendant deliberately deployed the emergency evacuation slide after a flight from Sacramento, California, landed at Houston's Bush Intercontinental Airport.

A United Airlines spokesperson told CBS News that shortly after arriving at the gate, a flight attendant on flight 1246 from Sacramento to Houston deployed the evacuation slide.

United spokesman Charlie Hobart says officials are investigating why the female employee, whose name has not been released, deployed the slide and then jumped onto it to exit the aircraft Monday morning.

Hobart says the flight attendant has been removed from her flying duties and that her actions do not represent the more than 20,000 flight attendants who work for the airline.

The aircraft was taken out of service briefly to be refitted with a slide, but was back in service, the spokesperson told CBS News.

No one was hurt during the incident.