Officer on leave after dragging United Airlines passenger off plane

[webfact]

Officer on leave after dragging United Airlines passenger off plane

By Alana Wise

REUTERS

 

FILE PHOTO - Two ground crew members walk past a United Airlines airplane as it sits at a gate at Newark Liberty International Airport in Newark, New Jersey, June 18, 2011. REUTERS/Gary Hershorn/File Photo

 

NEW YORK (Reuters) - An aviation security officer who dragged a passenger off of an overbooked United Airlines flight to make room for employees has been placed on leave, Chicago authorities said on Monday.

 

It was the second instance in less than a month of public outcry regarding the airline.

 

The officer -- one of three involved in the Sunday night incident -- did not follow protocol, according to a statement from the Chicago Department of Aviation, and as a result "has been placed on leave effective today pending a thorough review of the situation."

 

"The actions of the aviation security officer are obviously not condoned by the Department," the statement said.

 

The incident was one of the top-trending topics on Twitter as users took to the website to express their anger over the forceful removal of the passenger from United Flight 3411 as it was about to take off from Chicago to Louisville, Kentucky, on Sunday.

 

Video of the incident posted to Twitter account @Tyler_Bridges shows three security officers huddling over the seated passenger, who appears to be an older Asian man, before dragging him on the floor.

 

 

Bridges said that the man told United staff that he was a doctor and had to return home to patients.

 

The airline said it had asked for volunteers to leave because additional flight crew needed to get to Louisville.

 

The outcry prompted a statement from Chief Executive Officer Oscar Munoz. "This is an upsetting event to all of us here at United. I apologise for having to re-accommodate these customers."

 

Munoz said United was "moving with a sense of urgency" to work with the authorities and conduct its own review of the incident.

 

In Bridges' video, a woman asks: "Can't they rent a car for the pilots and have them drive?" Two uniformed men then reach into the doctor's seat and yank him from his chair.

 

Fellow passenger Jayse D. Anspach, who goes by @JayseDavid on Twitter, wrote: "No one volunteered (to leave), so @United decided to choose for us. They chose an Asian doctor and his wife."

 

While airport security staff were ejecting him, Anspach wrote, his face was slammed against an arm rest, causing his mouth to bleed.

 

"It looked like he was knocked out, because he went limp and quiet," Anspach wrote, "and they dragged him out of the plane like a rag doll."

 

Bridge's video shows the passenger screaming as officers yank him from his seat. He is then seen being dragged down the aisle on his back by his hands, body limp, glasses askew and shirt pulled up above his navel.

 

Another video shows him, still disheveled from the altercation, returning to the cabin, running to the back of the plane and repeating: "I have to go home."

 

Much of the uproar surrounded the appropriateness of removing a paying customer in order to accommodate airline staff.

 

"They bloodied a senior citizen & dragged him off the plane so THEIR OWN STAFF could take his seat," one Twitter user wrote.

 

Other social media users questioned whether the man would have been removed as forcefully had he not been Asian.

 

Late last month, two teenage girls dressed in leggings were denied boarding on a United flight from Denver to Minneapolis because of their form-fitting pants.

 

Because the girls were using free passes for employees or family members, they were subject to a dress code.

 

(Reporting by Alana Wise, Angela Moon and Gina Cherelus; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn and Sandra Maler)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2017-04-11

[darksidedog]

So of all the people on the plane, they didn't just randomly select a seat number, they chose an Asian.

I won't be flying United again. Racist B@stards.

[NanLaew]

1 hour ago, darksidedog said:

So of all the people on the plane, they didn't just randomly select a seat number, they chose an Asian.

I won't be flying United again. Racist B@stards.

Airlines such as United select passengers to be involuntarily denied boarding based on a number of factors, including the fare class of their tickets, frequent-flyer status, their itinerary, and when they checked in to the flight. No mention of race, sorry.

 

Anyway, at least it wasn't a white 'aviation security officer' that was responsible.

Edited April 11, 2017 by NanLaew

[Roadman]

Wow...."'flying the friendly skys"'....

 

[Panda13]

There's something seriously wrong with the whole aviation industry since 9/11. They seem to be or rather think that they are above the law and laws of human decency now. I think the law suit this guy will bring, will cost United a lot more than it would have costed them to hire a private jet to get the flight crew to their destination initially. A public relations and business management nightmare really .

[pegman]

43 minutes ago, NanLaew said:

Airlines such as United select passengers to be involuntarily denied boarding based on a number of factors, including the fare class of their tickets, frequent-flyer status, their itinerary, and when they checked in to the flight. No mention of race, sorry.

 

Anyway, at least it wasn't a white 'aviation security officer' that was responsible.

Are you kidding us? Race you think needs to be in the rules for it to be used in a discriminatory way in that country? Get real buddy! What an absolutely pathetic place.

[daveAustin]

What a disgrace. Anyone would have thought he just raped a stewardess. Hope the airline gets put through the rinser for this.

[boomerangutang]

Well, it could have been worse; they could have opened an emergency door and tossed him off the side.

[gk10002000]

absolutely ridiculous.  The man was ON the plane.  He gets to stay.  Don't fault the man because the greedy airline overbooked the flight in their attempt to maximize their profits and fill up every seat.  Once the plane is full, that should have been it.  He was let on the plane, obviously before others.  And now I am hearing that the seat was given to airline employee?! 

[Langsuan Man]

2 hours ago, webfact said:

Much of the uproar surrounded the appropriateness of removing a paying customer in order to accommodate airline staff.

Meaning that United screwed up the staffing of the connecting flights, so they had to forcibly remove a paying passenger to make room for their "dead heading" crew

 

Reminds me of a story line in the old episode of Police Story:  The cops were called to a grocery store because a customer had been shot by a security guard because he jumped the line.  Once the guard had been unarmed the policeman looked down at the wounded customer who was smiling and asked why he was smiling and said  because I now own this store

[Emster23]

If United policy had any brains, they should have used market place strategy: Have attendant go in and announce "We need 2 seats: I am offering next flight + $50"  no takers "Same + $100" .... "Next flight, $125 and hotel voucher" etc etc

[mesquite]

Just now, Emster23 said:

If United policy had any brains, they should have used market place strategy: Have attendant go in and announce "We need 2 seats: I am offering next flight + $50"  no takers "Same + $100" .... "Next flight, $125 and hotel voucher" etc etc

They did.  No one volunteered.

[zaZa9]

United deserves everything it gets over this. Disgraceful behaviour. What manager could have possibly conceived that forcibly removing a fully paid customer was a good idea ??

[Andrew Dwyer]

If United policy had any brains, they should have used market place strategy: Have attendant go in and announce "We need 2 seats: I am offering next flight + $50"  no takers "Same + $100" .... "Next flight, $125 and hotel voucher" etc etc

They did $400 + hotel which later went up to $800 + hotel but still no takers.
I think the money is in form of a travel award not cash which is probably a bad idea , which of these passengers would travel United again ??
Not many would be my guess !

[klauskunkel]

assault

[pegman]

The CEO should walk the blank and a $10m settlement agreed too. The physical airport cop should be fired and have assault charges laid. 

[jerojero]

3 hours ago, mesquite said:

They did.  No one volunteered.

Then they should have offered $1000....someone WOULD have taken it. Physically ousting a paying passenger like a criminal is utterly idiotic beyond stupidity! . Not flying United again. <deleted>them.

 

 

 

[Mosha]

Sent from my iris 505 using Tapatalk

[mesquite]

2 hours ago, jerojero said:

Then they should have offered $500....someone WOULD have taken it. Physically ousting a paying passenger like a criminal is utterly idiotic. Not flying United again. <deleted>them.

I agree and I won't fly them again either.  Other press reports say they offered $400 voucher with a hotel stay that night and then doubled it to $800 with no takers.  https://www.boston.com/news/national-news/2017/04/10/video-shows-guards-dragging-passenger-off-united-flight

[Credo]

For God's sake, it's not that hard.   You just ask a passenger to come to the front of the plane with their ticket and then when they get there, remove them.   Heck, you could even tell them there luggage needs to be rescreened.  Give them the boot, an apology, a new ticket and a bit of cash, maybe a night in a nice hotel.   Finished.  

[dick dasterdly]

2 hours ago, jerojero said:

Then they should have offered $500....someone WOULD have taken it. Physically ousting a paying passenger like a criminal is utterly idiotic beyond stupidity! . Not flying United again. <deleted>them.

 

The airline should have offered an attractive 'reward' for voluntarily leaving and getting the next flight from the start.

 

Many years ago the flight on which I was travelling (to the US) was late arriving and standby passengers had already been given our seats on a connecting flight.  The airline immediately offered us free tickets to anywhere in the US if we waited for the next flight, rather than insisting that the standby customers were ejected.

 

We accepted, and enjoyed free flights to Puerto Rico during our holiday.  Everyone was happy .

[Ulic]

The minimum compensation for an involuntary seat bump should be raised to 5000USD. That would discourage airlines from overselling seats and would discourage passengers from being so upset when bumped.

 

[ddavidovsky]

This says more about society nowadays. Everyone has such a highly-strung sense of entitlement and readiness to take offence that they can't tolerate the slightest inconvenience - even when offered adequate compensation. What is wrong with them? I would have just shrugged and got off.

[ezzra]

 

The airline were within their right to ask passengers to remove themselves, was it morally wrong? yes it was, was it handled badly? you bet ya, it could have been done much more nicer and without the violence ...

[kkerry]

To think people complain about Air Asia, Jet Star. Ryan Air. United are in a league of their own.

 

A fare paying passenger. Surely there were other alternatives to getting their staff to their destination.

 

Someone needs to be fired for this.

 

I rarely fly in the USA, but United just went to number one on my No Fly list.

[i claudius]

If they had offered cash that would be another matter ,but a voucher , what use is that if you are not going t fly again for a long time .it is a disgrace the way it was handeled .

[dabhand]

Apparently United only offered compensation up to $800 for passengers who agreed to be bumped. Yet they could have gone up to $1,350 per the regs.

 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/04/10/united-airlines-incident-rules-airlines-bumping-passengers-overselling/

If the passenger will be delayed more than two hours - or four hours for international flights - the airline must pay him four times the one-way fare, up to $1,350.

 

Quite possible that they would have convinced the required four volunteers at that level of compo. Could be a rather expensive mistake of the person who was only prepared to go up to $800. This is likely to cost United a huge multiple of the $2,200 saving.

 

[my friend I]

Make america great again

[Psimbo]

1 hour ago, mesquite said:

They did.  No one volunteered.

Wrong- 3 did (apparently including his wife). 

 

The behavior of the airline was crapp- they passengers were being removed in order to shift crew to another location.Whatever happened to the CUSTOMER comes first? 'Security staff' behaving like Nazis  but this seems to be the norm under Homeland Security- blink and you are getting a kicking or being arrested. This is the paranoid state they live in now.

 

He should have one heck of a civil suit and in this case I hope he takes United to the cleaners.

Edited April 11, 2017 by Psimbo

[Dipterocarp]

21 minutes ago, ddavidovsky said:

This says more about society nowadays. Everyone has such a highly-strung sense of entitlement and readiness to take offence that they can't tolerate the slightest inconvenience - even when offered adequate compensation. What is wrong with them? I would have just shrugged and got off.

True. I was on a United flight recently where a man boarded dropping eff bombs at a Cabin Attendant and there were plenty of older people and children around looking shocked. He was a gold member upset that he did not get an upgrade. First Class was sold out.

I saw the whole thing from 3 rows away. Then a pilot came out he shouted at the pilot "why don't you have me taken off?". He was taken off without a fight but screaming abuse the whole time.

 

About this incident the police overreacted but I wonder what we are not seeing. (Doubt the man is a Doctor, he is certainly not in his right mind, maybe drunk) Once you are asked to leave private property are guilty of Trespass. If you are intending to protest removal you do no non-violently. This guy resisted, that is why he was hurt. You don't mess around with cops in the states. I don't think it is right how brutal law enforcement has become but they will beat you down in a second.