The American flight attendant who attracted international attention when he used an emergency slide to dramatically exit a plane has appeared in court.

Steven Slater has pleaded guilty in a New York court to two counts of criminal mischief.

Instead of going to prison, he has agreed to pay $10,000 to the airline JetBlue and will undergo 12 months of mental health counselling.

The 39-year-old says he must take responsibility for his actions.

In August, Slater was a flight attendant on a JetBlue plane which had just landed at JFK airport.

He used the intercom to curse about a rude passenger, grabbed a couple of beers, activated the plane's emergency slide and jumped down it.

Slater later resigned from JetBlue.