Details are surfacing on the passenger who was violently removed from a United Airlines flight on Sunday.
United faced a media firestorm after video surfaced of a man being dragged off of a flight after he was told that the plane had been overbooked and he had to give up his seat.
Oscar Muniz, the company’s CEO, released the following statement which only seemed to intensify the ire of critics:
This is an upsetting event to all of us here at United. I apologize for having to re-accommodate these customers. Our team is moving with a sense of urgency to work with the authorities and conduct our own review of what happened.
That “re-accommodate” term especially got hammered:
cannot wait to use "i will re-accommodate your ass" in my next fight
— christine teigen (@chrissyteigen) April 10, 2017
In an email to employees on Monday, Muniz further explained his position in regards to what happened. “This situation was unfortunately compounded when one of the passengers we politely asked to deplane refused and it became necessary to contact Chicago Aviation Security Officers to help. Our employees followed established procedures for dealing with situations like this. While I deeply regret this situation arose, I also emphatically stand behind all of you,” he wrote.
As the shocking footage circulated, including additional video of the distraught person bleeding and repeatedly pleading “just kill me,” the identity of the passenger was revealed and details about the man came to light.
The passenger is 69-year-old David Dao, a practicing doctor in Kentucky with a sordid past.
In 2005 Dao was charged with nearly 100 felony counts of illegally prescribing pain killers. TMZ reports that he was accused of fraudulently filling prescriptions for Oxycontin and Percocet.
Dao was convicted in 2005 on 6 felony counts of obtaining drugs fraudulently and was sentenced to 5 years probation. In addition, he was convicted of writing prescriptions in exchange for sex. A doctor who assessed Dao’s case noted that, “… he would unilaterally choose to do his own thing.”
When Dao refused to leave the plane on Sunday he explained that he had patients back home he needed to see the next day.
While announcing that the officer who removed Dao from the plane has been place on leave, the The Chicago Department of Aviation stated that, “the incident on United flight 3411 was not in accordance with our standard operating procedure and the actions of the aviation security officer are obviously not condoned by the Department.”
