A Frontier Airlines pilot was arrested moments before taking off from George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston leading to the cancellation of the flight.
Seymour Walker, 45, was wanted in North Texas on an assault-family violence warrant according to police.
A video of the incident began to circulate on social media showing police officers escorting the pilot off the airplane in handcuffs. He can be seen walking down the flight steps before being led into a police vehicle. X, formerly Twitter, user @aviationbrk posted the video on Saturday. It was viewed over 500,000 times by Sunday.
Frontier Airlines pilot arrested while preparing the aircraft for departure at Houston Airport. pic.twitter.com/xEksBmrHNI
— Breaking Aviation News & Videos (@aviationbrk) August 3, 2024
Local television station NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth reported that the region’s International Airport Department of Public Safety filed the warrant, leading to his arrest on Thursday afternoon. He was taken into custody and his been released on bond.
A spokesperson for Frontier confirmed the incident in a statement to CBS News on Saturday.
“Frontier Airlines can confirm that on August 1, 2024, at George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston (IAH) a crew member was taken into custody by local law enforcement.”
“The activity occurred prior to the start of boarding for Flight 3195 scheduled from IAH to Dallas Fort Worth (DFW),” it continued. “A replacement crew member was not immediately available and therefore the flight was canceled. Impacted customers were offered the option of a full refund, credit, or re-accommodation on the next available Frontier flight later that evening.”
The airline said that passengers were offered a $100 flight voucher and overnight accommodation “as needed.”
Meanwhile, on Tuesday, footage circulated on social media of a woman hurling a computer at Fronier staff after missing her flight in Chicago.
The video shows the woman stepping over the counter at the bag drop, One staff member tries to restrain her while she yells and accosts other staff, before she picks up a computer and keyboard and hurls it at him.
It was initially posted on TikTok by user @cindyhalasova but she said it had been removed for containing violent or graphic content. A repost of the footage posted on X by user @Chicago_Goofies had been viewed over 74,000 times by Sunday.
Crazy Karen trying to fight with frontier employees at terminal 5 at O’Hare airport #Chicago pic.twitter.com/2VyuyglaGG
— Goofies Of Chicago (@Chicago_Goofies) July 30, 2024
Frontier is a low-cost airline based in Denver. The American Customer Satisfaction Index ranks it as having the second-lowest customer satisfaction rating of any American carrier.
Earlier this year, Newsweek‘s Vault ranked Frontier as one of the worst carriers in terms of hidden or added fees.
