Simone Bryna Kim, a 24-year-old from Killeen, Texas, was forcibly removed from a Frontier Airlines flight by four police officers after threatening a fellow passenger and attempting to bite the officers. The incident occurred on Tuesday, while the plane was on the tarmac at Miami International Airport, en route to Philadelphia.
Kim was caught on camera arguing with a male passenger, loudly threatening to physically assault him. Despite the efforts of a crew member and another passenger to intervene and defuse the situation, Kim refused to leave the plane. Miami-Dade Police were eventually called in to remove her.
During the arrest, Kim reportedly struggled, pushing and pulling officers as they tried to get her off the plane. She is said to have scratched one officer and attempted to bite and kick others, with one officer nearly knocked down during the arrest, according to Local 10 News.
A passenger filmed Kim being carried by a group of officers, who attempted to place her flailing body in a police cruiser, as onlookers expressed shock and disbelief at the unfolding scene.
Kim now faces two felony charges for battery on a police officer, one charge of resisting an officer with violence, and a trespassing charge. She has been released from jail after posting bond.
This incident is one of many that have erupted at US airports since the post-pandemic travel surge, with numerous unruly passengers caught on camera engaging in altercations with each other or flight staff. The Federal Aviation Administration reported 2,456 such incidents in the previous year.