A United Airlines passenger being dragged from a plane in Chicago sparked international outrage and turned into a corporate public relations nightmare. Dr David Dao, a 69-year-old Vietnamese-American doctor, was hospitalised after Chicago aviation police dragged him from the plane to make space for four crew members on the flight from the Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport to Louisville, Kentucky. Passengers were offered $1,000 to take a flight the next day. Dr Dao was selected to give up his seat after no volunteers were found. Chicago runs the airport and the city’s department of aviation employs the three officers who dragged Dao off the plane.
Dr Dao suffered a concussion, a broken nose and lost two front teeth in the incident. Video of the incident taken by other passengers and showing Dr Dao being dragged up the plane aisle circulated rapidly, causing public outrage. The airline’s stock price crashed, falling almost 3% soon after the incident. Dr Dao’s daughter, Crystal Dao Pepper, told a news conference that the family was “horrified, shocked and sickened” by what happened to her father. Pepper, 33, called him a “wonderful father” and “loving grandfather”. “What happened to my dad should have never happened to any human being,” she said. Dr Dao said that being dragged was more terrifying than his experience fleeing Vietnam in 1975, Reuters reported. United Airlines apologised again and said they were reviewing all company policies and would complete settlement legal process by April 30.
