United Airlines Scandal

Airline Security Brutally Drags Doctor off Overbooked Flight, Causing Controversy

Could+the+sun+be+setting+on+United+Airlines+after+this+grievous+incident%3F

Photo Courtesy of Bella Cyrus

Could the sun be setting on United Airlines after this grievous incident?

Photo Courtesy of Lisa Wathen
Friendly skies?
On Sunday, April 9th, United Airlines overbooked a flight leaving Chicago going to Louisville, causing them to carry out their customer removal procedures. United Airlines overbooks their flights regularly to assure that they will make a profit on every flight, even if people don’t show up for their plane.

On April 9th, flight 3411 was full and United Airlines needed seats for crew members that had to get to Atlanta for their next job.

The removal of passengers began by offering volunteers $400 vouchers before boarding, then $800 vouchers once on board, and according to the airline they “offered up to $1,000 in compensation.” As there were no volunteers to leave the plane, the airline proceeded to use their logarithm to pick random passengers’ seats to get off the plane. According to WGNT.com, passenger Tyler Bridges said, “It was easy to understand why there were no volunteers. It was Sunday night and the next flight was not until the following afternoon.”

Four people were chosen to exit the plane, but one refused to leave the plane. Dr. David Dao said that he would not give up his seat as he needed to see patients the next day. He also accused the flight employees of profiling him because he was an Asian man. After continuing to refuse to give up his seat, he was literally dragged off of the plane. In the video of the situation posted by Tyler Ridges, the man looked as if he was bleeding from the mouth.

The outcry on every front, from social media to credentialed news organizations has been non-stop. The only thing missing is a lampooning Saturday Night Live skit, which is almost certain to be made.          A 69-year-old man was forcefully dragged off a United Airlines flight by Department of Aviation security officers after he refused to give up his seat on an overbooked flight.

 

The victim, Dr. David Dao went to medical school in Vietnam in the 1970s before moving to the U.S., currently works as a disease specialist.  Dr. Dao was arrested in 2003 and eventually convicted of drug-related offenses after an undercover investigation, “according to documents filed with the Kentucky Board of Medical Licensure last June.” According to The Kentucky Board of Medical Licensure Dao was permitted to resume practicing medicine in 2015 under certain conditions.

According to cnn.com,  once the incident occurred the victim continued to resist and ran back onto the airplane, face bloodied from the encounter.  He is now suffering from a concussion, two broken teeth, broken nose and sinus injury’s. Dr. David Dao plans on filing a lawsuit.

United Airlines Response

Due to the public outcry related to the incident with David Dao on a United Airlines flight leaving Chicago, United Airlines CEO, Oscar Munoz, released a statement about the event:

Dear Team,
The truly horrific event that occurred on this flight has elicited many responses from all of us: outrage, anger, disappointment. I share all of those sentiments, and one above all: my deepest apologies for what happened. Like you, I continue to be disturbed by what happened on this flight and I deeply apologize to the customer forcibly removed and to all the customers aboard. No one should ever be mistreated this way.
I want you to know that we take full responsibility and we will work to make it right.
It’s never too late to do the right thing. I have committed to our customers and our employees that we are going to fix what’s broken so this never happens again. This will include a thorough review of crew movement, our policies for incentivizing volunteers in these situations, how we handle oversold situations and an examination of how we partner with airport authorities and local law enforcement. We’ll communicate the results of our review by April 30th.
I promise you we will do better.
Sincerely,
Oscar

 

United Airlines has stated that they were only following procedure in removing the passengers on the plane. They have said they will “review its own policies for handling situations where it has sold more tickets than seats available, including how it incentivizes customers to volunteer to take a later flight.” Munoz also stated, “United also is examining how it works with airport authorities and local law enforcement.”

David Dao, the man who was practically assaulted on this flight, was admitted to a hospital Tuesday due to injuries that he had sustained during this event. Dao has already hired a high profile lawyer to take on this case against United Airlines.

The forceful and unnecessary removal of Mr. Dao from his seat on United Airlines flight 3411 has caused controversy worldwide. Some passengers aboard the plane that witnessed the incident managed to record it with their cell phones. In the videos you can hear, and even see, concerned passengers yelling at the airline security saying, “Oh my God stop,” and “What did you do?”

Since the incident, social media has become a sounding board to concerned individuals all over the world. There are several different videos taken by passengers on the flight, of Mr. Dao being dragged across the floor on the plane, which have all made it to the internet for the world to see.  One Twitter account that posted the disturbing video has almost 20k retweets, causing Twitter users to tweet at United Airlines asking questions and voicing their opinions on the matter.

The way this situation was handled has engendered a feeling of discomfort among frequent flyers, and especially those that regularly fly with United Airlines. The airline company has since lost $800 million in value and has made the decision to refund all passengers that were aboard flight 3411 that day. Although United Airlines has responded to the incident and apologized for the way it was handled, the brutal removal of Mr. Dao will always mar the record of the airline company as they go forward, providing transportation to flyers.