Jean Mamakos, 68, had boarded her flight to Seattle, on her way to a skiing event in Alaska, when she tried to move from her seat to an empty seat in the emergency exit row, after plane doors closed.
Flight attendants told her that she would have to pay for an upgrade to sit in that seat, prompting her to move back to her original seat.
"At that point, I decided no, I'm not paying $109 and went back to my seat," Mamakos said. "I heard the captain say there is a lady who wants to get off the plane on this flight. So we have to wait. I didn't know that was me."
Mamakos claims the flight attendants then surrounded her and demanded she exit the plane. She refused, and police were called and allegedly dragged her off the flight, ripping her jeans.
"They did handcuff me. There were three policemen who dragged me off the plane," she said.
In taped footage obtained by CBS New York, a responding police officer asks Mamakos 'Do you want to come willingly or be arrested for trespass?'
Mamakos replies, “'Whatever you have to do.'” The officer then says, “'Okay.'”
The courts were closed over the weekend the incident occurred, requiring Mamakos to spend three days in a county jail until the courts opened on Monday, her attorney told the news outlet.
United Airlines refused to comment, but according to the station, federal law requires pre-flight briefing for anyone seated in emergency rows, and added that balance and weight safety regulations prevent onboard seat changes.
