Add CategoryTWO aviation security officers have been fired and a third has resigned for their roles in dragging a doctor off an overbooked United Airlines flight for refusing to give up his seat.
The New York Post reports Dr David Dao of Louisville, Kentucky, broke his nose, lost teeth and suffered a concussion in the April 9 fiasco, which was filmed on a mobile phone and sent United into a public relations tailspin.
Five-day suspensions also were handed to two other officers who removed the flailing, bleeding doctor for refusing to relinquish his seat to a crew member who needed to get to Louisville, the Chicago Sun-Times reported.
One of the suspensions was reduced to two days after the officer filed a grievance. The other officer also filed a grievance, but then withdrew it and resigned, according to the paper.
The names of the fired officers, who were unarmed, were not released. They were identified only as an aviation security officer and a sergeant.
The first officer violated the Aviation Department’s policy when he “escalated a non-threatening situation into a physically violent one by forcefully removing a passenger from the aircraftâ€, according to a report by Chicago Inspector General Joseph Ferguson.
The second officer made “misleading statements in two reports†and the third made “material omissions in a report regarding the first†officer’s forceful removal of Dao, 69, the report said.
United Airlines chief executive Oscar Munoz, who issued a public apology for the incident, said the carrier would no longer allow officers to remove passengers in overbooking situations.
The airline also said it would no longer bump passengers who have already boarded and squeeze travelling crew members onto flights at the last minute.
Dao and United Airlines reached an “amicable settlement†in late April.
The viral video of the fracas became an international symbol of passenger discontent with the flying experience and damaged Chicago’s reputation as an international tourist destination.
“As we have clearly stated, the department is taking every action in our power to ensure that an incident like this never, ever occurs again,†said aviation spokeswoman Lauren Huffman, the Chicago Tribune reported.
This article originally appeared on the New York Post and was reproduced with permission.