This was not overbooking. The passenger had a boarding card and was sitting in his assigned seat, so a different set of laws applies, namely 14 CFR 250.2a which states that passengers can only be kicked off a plane for certain specific violations and none of them apply here.
The gate agent said the passenger was "unruly" when there are a number of witnesses who say he was not. He ended up with a concussion, a broken nose and two missing teeth.
Airport security are not law enforcement officers. They do not carry guns and have limited rights. They could be sued.
He was not offered $800 in US dollars, he was offered $800 in travel vouchers and the vouchers could not be combined to cover one flight like $800 off a $1000 flight - it had to be spread out over several flights. FAA regulations require the airline to make the offer in writing, which they did not do. They are also required to offer up to $1350 in cash, not funny money.
United has an unsavoury history - they kicked a girl off a flight because she was autistic, they forced two girls off another plane because they were wearing leggings and they destroyed a musician's guitar and got a song called "United Breaks Guitars" written by the musician that went viral several years ago. They also kicked a company CEO off a flight from Hawaii to LA and threatened to take him off the plane in handcuffs and he had a first-class seat. He is suing.
Their previous United CEO has been convicted of felony conspiracy and two of his senior executives resigned in disgrace. They had traded favours - United got to build a new hangar in exchange for United opening a new route from Newark to Columbia SC.
The doctor's wife was on board. I don't know if she was also selected to leave.
The selection process for deciding who leaves the plane has not been made public. It may involve racism or racial profiling.
United hired investigators to dig up dirt on the passenger.
Joya Griffin Cummings, put this on her Facebook account after being seated right behind the doctor:
"Update on United Flight 3411 to Louisville:
Thank you to all of the friends and friends of friends who shared my video of Dr. Dao before he was forcibly removed from our flight. For getting the word out that this passenger was no more "irate or belligerent" than any weary passenger after a long day of travel would be. He just wanted to go home, had to work the next day and did not feel it was right to have to give up his seat, a seat he was already sitting in upon the plane. The airline was not able to get him home until after 2 pm Monday afternoon. He was irritated as any passenger would be, questioning why he was chosen and explaining that he was a doctor and had patients to see in the morning. I was not concerned for my safety, nor that of my toddler's or for my pregnancy until the police were called aboard our plane to remove him. I was worried about what a physical altercation would entail with us sitting directly behind him and if the officers were armed in a tiny, confined space.
The media is now performing a character assassination in attempts to excuse the airline's treatment of this individual, a human being and child of God. It is disappointing and disgusting to me that our society is so depraved that big business and organizations have no care for individual rights and treat people this way. My heart breaks for this man and his family who have now been literally drug off a plane, and are now being drug through the mud. All of this for sticking to principal and wanting to sleep in one's own bed as the remaining non-volunteering passengers on the flight had wanted.
Last night while putting our son to bed, a United Airlines representative called to offer apologies and a full refund of our tickets. This is a small gesture for the horror that everyone experienced on that plane and what the world is experiencing now at this injustice. I hope and pray for policy change, for better rights as a consumer, for lack of fear of racial profiling and discrimination by authorities, for no more instances of police brutality or brutality against the police, for an end to terrorism stateside and abroad, for a safer more compassionate world for my children. The more the videos of the flight play, the more my heart breaks for Dr. Dao and our community as a whole. Things must change. America, we can and must do better."
This link takes you to a video that Joya shot from the seat directly behind Dr. Dao as the situation unfolded. Watch it and then try to convince people that the doctor was irate or belligerent. He was simply firm about the fact that he wasn't giving up his seat.
https://www.facebook.com/joya.griffi...3875195474005/
This is a Rosa Parks moment for an industry that has ridden roughshod over customer rights for decades. China is considering rescinding United's landing rights. I hope the FAA investigates because its deliberations will be public. (You can bet when the passenger sues, one of the conditions is that no public announcement of the settlement will be made.) I hope an additional invasion of privacy suit will be launched about United hiring investigators to discredit the passenger. I hope United is driven into bankruptcy. And I hope criminal charges are laid against United employees (for lying to security about the passenger being unruly) and corporate decisions like this can be considered criminal acts by corporate decision-makers who can be tried and convicted for their crimes.
