Claire Reid
A woman was removed from a flight by law enforcement officers who were forced to drag her down the aisle of the plane after she refused to move and allegedly bit one of the officers.
Footage caught by a fellow passenger shows the moment the ‘disruptive’ woman was taken off the flight, while she repeatedly says: “I'm so confused. What's happening.” You can see the clip here:
Later in the clip, she can be heard to say: "Can I please have my phone? No, I literally need my phone. I paid for that.”
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The incident unfolded on May 29 on a Southwest Airlines flight due to fly out from Louis Armstrong International Airport in New Orleans.
Officials from Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office named the woman as Kamaryn Gibson, 25, from Olathe, Kansas.
Captain Jason Rivarde from Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office told NOLA deputies attempted to get Gibson to leave the plane willingly, but she ‘refused’.
"She refused to exit the plane multiple times," Rivarde said.
Officers said that while trying to remove her, she kicked out the deputies and bit another on the leg.
Rivarde added: "She began fighting with them and continued to fight them on the jet bridge and into the public seating area.”
Once off the plane, Gibson was restrained and placed in a wheelchair before being brought to the airport’s police office.
She was later taken to the Jefferson Parish Correctional Center, where she was charged with two counts of disturbing the peace, criminal mischief, two counts of resisting an officer using force or violence and three counts of battery on a police officer.
Witnesses aboard the flight say the woman was ‘drunk’ - sharing the clip on TikTok one passenger said: "When you get removed from your flight and arrested for being too drunk.
“@Southwest Airlines your flight attendants handled the situation perfectly. They asked her nicely to get off the flight, but she refused numerous times, so they called in for assistance.
"The police did try to remove her without force prior to the video, but she wasn’t having any of it."
In a statement to the Independent Southwest Airlines said: “On May 29, local authorities in New Orleans were contacted to remove a customer who was exhibiting disruptive and unacceptable behavior onboard. We commend our crew for their outstanding professionalism while handling this challenging situation.
“Our employees are responsible for the safety, well-being, and comfort of all of our customers, and we maintain a zero-tolerance policy for unruly customers”.
Gibson was released the day after the incident on a $6,000 bond.