Earlier this week, a video of an Asian man getting dragged off his flight by police officers went viral on social media.
The 69 year-old doctor was forcibly dragged out of his seat on the United Airlines flight from Chicago, U.S. after refusing to give up his spot on the flight.
Source: Video Screengrab
The in-flight staff announced before taking off that they needed some passengers to give up their seats, as the flight was overbooked and they needed to transport some of their other staff for an upcoming flight.
None of the passengers volunteered to give up their seats, so the staff decided to randomly select passengers who would need to leave, providing them with 800 USD (RM3,548.40) vouchers and a hotel stay as compensation.
According to the Daily Mail, the in-flight staff randomly selected an Asian man, who happened to be a doctor. He told the staff he couldn’t give up his seat because he needed to see his patients in the morning.
Source: Video Screengrab
However, this didn’t faze the crew, and they insisted that he leaves the flight. However, he was adamant on staying on the plane, which was when they decided to call Chicago Aviation Security Officers.
A video of the incident shows the security officers violently dragging the man from his seat, who can be heard yelling out in pain.
In the midst of the physical struggle, the man knocked his head on an armrest, causing him to bleed and collapse.
The weakened man was then dragged to the other side of the plane by the officers. Yes, DRAGGED!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8DITlDdZzQ
Another video also surfaced on Twitter, showing the traumatised man covered in blood from his injury, saying that he wants to go home.
Another video also shows him repeatedly saying “kill me.” Netizens assume he said this because he was in a traumatised state.
In response to widespread outcry from netizens the world over, Oscar Munoz, the CEO of United Airlines, addressed the incident with this statement:
Source: Facebook
However, despite this apology, it was recently discovered that the CEO carried a completely different tone in a private e-mail he sent out to United Airlines staff, according to the Daily Mail.
Source: The Daily Mail
In the e-mail, Munoz stood by his staff, implying that their actions were reasonable because of the man’s “disruptive and belligerent” behaviour.
Also, in another report from the Chicago Police Department, it was claimed that the man ‘fell’.
“Aviation Officers arrived on scene attempted to carry the individual off of the flight when he fell. His head subsequently struck an armrest causing injuries to his face.”
– Chicago Police Department
This incident of course got everyone in a frenzy. How could a company actually let their staff violently man-handle a paying customer? And to consider it a reasonable course of action too!
Also read: Malaysia Airlines Flight Finally Takes Off After Being Delayed for TWO Days
