MIAMI -- A faulty valve that regulates cabin pressure may have caused an American Airlines plane to remain pressurized after landing, hurling a flight attendant out with hurricane-like force when he pried open the door, aviation experts said Tuesday.

The pilot of Haiti-bound Flight 1291 reported cabin pressure problems and a warning light indicating a possible fire minutes after takeoff from Miami International Airport Monday morning, a safety investigator said. He returned to Miami and ordered an emergency evacuation of the plane upon landing.

Jose Chiu, 34, the lead flight attendant, died after he was catapulted more than 40 feet from the airplane after opening the door. A number of passengers suffered injuries during the panicky exit that followed.

The 12-year-old Airbus A-300 had just undergone two days of maintenance at American's hangar, and Monday's flight was its first attempted departure since then, said Jeff Kennedy, air safety investigator for the National Transportation Safety Board.

The NTSB has a team in Miami investigating the incident.

Retirement home director arrested

VENICE, Fla. -- An investigation into longtime, systematic theft from a Venice retirement home and its residents led Tuesday to the arrest of the home's executive director, the Rev. John Spittal.

Since early October, the Venice Police Department and the State Attorney's Office have been investigating whether Village on the Isle administrators furnished their homes with jewelry, furs and family heirlooms stolen from residents' quarters after they died. Investigators also said they think village employees bought equipment such as drills with village funds and kept them.

Spittal was arrested on a grand theft charge and released on $10,000 bail. Last month his brother-in-law, Joseph Allen, who was head of security at the retirement home, was charged with exploitation of the elderly, and a friend and associate of Spittal, Edward Everett, was charged with grand theft.

The grand theft charge against Spittal related to an air conditioner that was paid for by the village but installed in Spittal's home, Venice police Detective Tom McNulty said.

Mother of wandering tot arrested

LAKELAND -- A 21-year-old mother was charged with neglect after her 2-year-old son was found wandering naked early Tuesday in 45-degree weather, officials said.

The Polk County Sheriff's Office charged Betsy Jane Craig, said spokeswoman Michal Shanley. She was being held at Polk County Jail on Tuesday, a booking officer said.

Shanley said Elizabeth Simmons found the boy wandering across her patio, naked and screaming, about 9 a.m. Simmons called 911 and took the child inside. Deputies went door-to-door searching for relatives.

About 1:45 p.m., deputies found Craig walking in the neighborhood, looking for her son. The mother told deputies she fell asleep, and her son got out and wandered off.

The Department of Children and Families took custody of the child, Shanley said.

Three join Women's Hall of Fame

TALLAHASSEE -- Former U.S. Sen. Paula Hawkins, Army Maj. Gen. Marianne Mathewson-Chapman and retired tennis great Chris Evert were inducted Tuesday into the Florida Women's Hall of Fame.

"These women are pacesetters and barrier breakers," Gov. Jeb Bush said at a ceremony honoring the three.

Hawkins, 73, was the first Florida woman elected to the U.S. Senate, in 1980.

Mathewson-Chapman, 52, was the first woman in Florida's Army National Guard promoted to her rank. She now serves as U.S. deputy surgeon general.

Evert, born in Fort Lauderdale, held the world's No. 1 ranking in women's tennis for seven years. She was not present.

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Lucy Morgan

From the Times state desk