A Spirit Airlines passenger got into a heated confrontation with staff before takeoff in the Caribbean ... and she was booted from the plane along with her 2 dogs while the cameras were rolling.

TMZ obtained dramatic video from Thursday's jaw-dropping incident aboard the aircraft, which was standing on the tarmac at Cyril E. King Airport in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands.

Check it out ... the woman is clearly pissed as she argues with 2 staffers ... saying something about her seat while pointing to the number on the overhead bin.

Things quickly devolved into chaos, with security officers yanking her out of the plane and down a flight of boarding stairs onto the tarmac, while another worker led the dogs out.

Our sources say the woman was "acting crazy" and "yelling F-bombs." We're also told she was ordering around the Spirit employees.

The woman's 2 dogs -- they appear to be Boston terriers -- had a front-row seat to the drama, watching their owner being led down the stairs in handcuffs as she struggled with the officers. Other passengers can be heard gasping as they record all the craziness with their phone cameras.

The good news is ... the plane took off shortly after that and made it to its final destination in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

We reached out to Spirit Airlines for comment ... so far, no word back. We also reached out to St. Thomas Police Service ... nothing back yet.