(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.