CHICAGO — A man was injured Sunday night when he was forcibly dragged off a United Airlines flight from Chicago to Louisville.
Video of the incident went viral after it surfaced Monday, sparking a massive reaction online and causing the airline’s market value to take a hit.
Dr. David Dao, the man seen being dragged off the plane in the viral video footage, is now being represented by two Chicago-area law firms, who jointly released the following statement Tuesday:
Statement on behalf of United Airlines Passenger Dr. David Dao
Dr. David Dao, the United Airlines passenger who was removed from an airplane seat on United Airlines Sunday, is undergoing treatment in a Chicago hospital for his injuries.
“The family of Dr. Dao wants the world to know that they are very appreciative of the outpouring of prayers, concern and support they have received. Currently, they are focused only on Dr. Dao’s medical care and treatment,” said Chicago attorney Stephen L. Golan of Golan Christie Taglia, who along with Chicago aviation attorney Thomas A. Demetrio of Corboy & Demetrio, represents the Dao family.
Until Dr. Dao is released from the hospital, the family is asking for privacy and will not be making any statements to the media, both attorneys said.
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United CEO Oscar Munoz released a statement in response to the situation:
The truly horrific event that occured on this flight has elicited many responses from all of us: outrage, anger, disappoinment. I share all of those sentiments, and one above all: my deepest apologises for what happened. Like you, I continue to be disturbed by what happened on this flight and I deeply apologize to the customer forcible removed and to all the customers aboard. No one should ever be mistreated this way.
I want you to know that we take full responsibility and we work to make this right.
It’s never too late to do the right thing. I have committed to our customers and our employees that we are going to fix what’s broken so this never happens again. This will inclused a thorough review of crew movement, our policies for incentivizing volunteers in these situations, how we handle oversold situations and an examination of howe partner with airport authorities and local law enforcement. We’ll communicate the results of our review by April 30th.
I promise you we will do better.
Sincerely,
Oscar
