Posted on 04/12/2017 6:38:09 PM PDT by Sean_Anthony
The author of the article starts off with an invalid premise, so nothing he says after that is meaningful.
The reason for this chain of events starts with the flight being 2 hours LATE for takeoff. The flight was overbooked, but that was resolved. Then... the four flight crew members from a different airline needed seats to get to the other airport for their next assignment.
3 of the passengers took the money offer, to make room for this other ‘crew’, but the subject of this article was picked at random and refused to take the deal or get off the flight.
He also had a ‘deadline’ and felt like should they pick someone else. But... he went all irrational and the story didn’t end well.
Imagine you run a bar, and a customer is really drunk, and you refuse to give him another drink. He argues. Do you throw him out ?
The new regs that give attendants huge power over passengers since 9-11 have made it worse. Too many little hitlers now. They’ve gotten used to the power and like to exercise it now. You see incidents about passengers getting kicked off flights ford simply getting a bit testy about being treated like dog poop.
Has United explained why four employees were needed for the flight the next day? What happened to the original flight crew? Or, because of incompetence, did United never schedule employees for that flight to begin with? Why, instead of dragging people off of a plane that was ready to embark, didn't United simply cancel that next day's flight, or delay it? It's a 4 1/2 hour drive from Chicago to Louisville. Why couldn't the staff drive there instead? A friend of mine's niece is a flight attendant, and whatever airline she works for, they make their employees drive if it's within a certain distance.
Several years ago, (I don't recall the airline), my son and his then girlfriend were sitting in a plane, at JFK with a bunch of other people waiting for the plane to take off. They had flown back that morning from Europe, and were on a puddle jumper headed to Albany, NY, where it was expected to land sometime before midnight. After a long period of delay, an announcement was finally made that they didn't have a flight crew to man the plane, and everyone would have to disembark. If I recall correctly, they put them up in some $hithole hotel nearby, and because the flight they put them on was for early the next morning, neither of them were able to get any sleep.
Look, I’m against all of the things you mentioned.
I am about 3/4 away from being a million mile United flyer. Even before this pathetic incident, I was wondering if it was worth continually booking almost all of my flights on United.
The way that they treat their passengers, including people like me who book and pay for tons of miles each year is not even wrong.
Last year I was bumped up to business class on a flight from Japan (really good). And then they tried to bump me back to economy even though I had boarded in my seat and business class was about half empty. They kept on saying how they found me another seat. I politely told them they couldn’t do this since I had already boarded with my ticket.
In the end they didn’t beat me to a pulp and drag me out and just honored the upgrade they had told me I had.
I guess I should feel grateful that their current “drop and drag” policy didn’t apply to me and that I wasn’t bloodied.
I have flown on them for a long time and might get to be a million mile flyer if I don’t become possibly more rational and give up on this goal with them. United even with premier benefits is not even wrong.
They were much better before they merged w/ Continental and took the least common denominator of what each was doing.
Once again, I’m grateful that even though I’ve flown about 750K miles with them, they haven’t forcibly removed me from any flights.
How many people here would like to see Tina Fey dragged off that plane she’s on when doing her American Express commercials?
The public attitude of high dudgeon ahainst UAl is BS, as is drug-pushing Dr. Dao’s chances in a civil suit.
The airline has the right, for any nondiscriminatory purpose, to remove any pax from an a/c at any time the door is open. You may not like it, and there are rules for compensation, but that is the law, the filed tariffs and the Contract of Carriage.
The passenger refused the flight attendant’s repeated requests then legal demands over a 12-minute period that he leave the aircraft. He was then in violation of 49 U.S. Code § 46504.
United then called law enforcement to remove him, as required by law. Chicago LEO’s asked/told him on multiple occasions that he had to leave a/c. That’s when he began his false cries that he had to be in surgery the next morning.
They then ordered him to leave one more time. LEOs then told him he was under arrest for repeated vio of 49 U.S. Code § 46504 and Illinois law (Failure to Obey...) and he would have to leave with them.
He refused to comply and passively then violently resisted that lawful arrest. LEOs then had to extract him from his seat and he fought them.
This is all confirmed in a new video that has now surfaced of the Dr. taken minutes before the previously released one.
Dao, who is seated next to the window, says to the officers standing in the aisle, “I won’t go. I’m a physician I have to work tomorrow, eight o’clock.” That has been proven to be a lie, as he no longer has surgical privileges, They were taken away by the state for his being a drug pusher to kids, and only very limited internal medicine privileges recently restored. , Even if he did have surgery, it is immaterial.
Dao who is on his cellphone, appears to say something about making a “lawsuit against United Airlines” but does not raise his voice until the officers continue to tell him he has to leave. “I am not going,” he repeats, while shaking his head.
The officer then suggests that he may have to “drag” Dao off. “Well, you can then drag me. I don’t go, I’m not going,” the doctor says again. “I’m staying right here.” “I’m just telling you, it’s going to be a lot harder for you,” Dao replies, “Yes, I know that, I’d rather go to jail.”
Cops simple defense, (besides Sovereign Immunity) “We told him what was going to happen, and he wanted it to happen so he could sue United Airlines. He chose what happened.”
Then the other video started.
The entire violence was caused by an arrested man actively resisting that arrest and removal from the a/c. Did Chicago LEO’s overreact? Possibly, but the blame is not UAL’s. It started when the pax refused multiple lawful orders, resisted arrest, and what happened subsequently was his fault.
There was no breach of contract. If there was one, he was the violator in failing to follow the lawful order of a flight crew member. There was a violation of Federal law, and if he pushes it, the airline’s lawyers will be pushing the FAA to impose a statutory $25,000 civil fine for interference with a flight crew member.... and possibly some jail time.... and he would have to pony up lawyers fees and ant fine before any possible damages from the airline would be received.... and airlines are VERY well represented. In addition, the necessity for his forced removal after his violation of the law would only increase the severity of HIS act, not lessen it, as would his reported reentry to the a/c.
Also, I wonder how many drinks are on his Amex (discoverable) charged just before the flight... and I’ll bet the flight crew and LEOs might just testify he smelled of alcohol.
A parallel example. Let’s say are stopped for 40 in a 30.
When running your license, the LEO gets a hit saying you have an open warrant from Spokane, Washington. He announces he is going to arrest you and take you to jail for that.
His information is wrong, and you know it, because you have never been within 500 miles of the State of Washington.
Regardless, you must submit to the arrest or face the physical and legal consequences for not doing do.
You later have good grounds for a civil suit, but that is for arguing later, not on the street, on in airline seat. If you resist, you can be charged and so serious time, regardless of the incorrectness of the “Spokane” charge.
This drug-pushing-on-kids doctor set himself up for what he got, because he wanted to sue United, and if Dao is ever foolish to take it to trial, that’s going to be the jury’s verdict.
When it happens to you, we’ll all agree that you were stupid to fly United after seeing this live-action video.
Talk about snowflake now CFP and some FReepers are advocating that that the law doesn’t apply to everyone equally, not if it inconveniences some of their favorite special people or business.
I betting these advocates of select law enforcement would have hollered long and hard had they been bumped, true they most likely wouldn’t have behaved as the gentleman did in this case, but they would have been livid and we would be reading about the evil United Airlines on the pages of CFP today.
Bookmarking your contract of carriage info for future reference.
Nope, I’m not with this guy on this one. When you pay for a seat and you need to be there the next day, and you don’t want to “volunteer” to be bumped for hours, or even till the next day, they need to up the offer till someone volunteers. For $200 more I bet you someone would have actually volunteered. They picked him because they figured an old Asian man wouldn’t put up a fight. Guarantee you.
What is your source for claiming this doctor pushed drugs on kids?
Heck, from Chicago to Louisville, they could have driven and had time to spare.
There is no justification for the airline having done this to that passenger (and yes, I know about his past - and it’s totally irrelevant to this incident).
Isn’t it amazing how quickly glom onto ‘fixers’ disinformation?
I don’t think you could be any more wrong.
According to TMZ.com, Dr. David Dao has a criminal history and previously lost his license to practice medicine.
The site reported Dr. Dao was charged with 98 felony drug counts for illegally prescribing and trafficking painkillers in 2005. Some of the recipients of the prescriptions were as young as 17.
Dr. Dao was also convicted on six felony counts of obtaining drugs by fraud and deceit and got five years probation in 2005, according to TMZ.
According to legal documents TMZ found, Dao was also convicted for writing prescriptions and checks to a patient in exchange for sex.
In the documents Dao denies paying for sex but admits to accepting sexual favors from an associate who owed him money.
The report states Dao surrendered his medical license in Kentucky in 2005.
In 2015 the medical board lifted the suspension and allowed him restricted practice.
But then last year the medical board imposed more restrictions, according to TMZ.
Now Dao can only practice internal medicine in an outpatient facility one day per week.
According to TMZ.com, Dr. David Dao has a criminal history and previously lost his license to practice medicine.
The site reported Dr. Dao was charged with 98 felony drug counts for illegally prescribing and trafficking painkillers in 2005. Some of the recipients of the prescriptions were as young as 17, perhaps younger.
Dr. Dao was also convicted on six felony counts of obtaining drugs by fraud and deceit and got five years probation in 2005, according to TMZ.
According to legal documents TMZ found, Dao was also convicted for writing prescriptions and checks to a patient in exchange for sex.
In the documents Dao denies paying for sex but admits to accepting sexual favors from an associate who owed him money.
The report states Dao surrendered his medical license in Kentucky in 2005.
In 2015 the medical board lifted the suspension and allowed him restricted practice.
But then last year the medical board imposed more restrictions, according to TMZ.
Now Dao can only practice internal medicine in an outpatient facility one day per week.
Where am I wrong?
The new video of him, quoted in my post, was broadcast in Chicago!
Are you arguing the legal points? I doubt that.
We’ll see how effective the policy is as soon as his lawyers get through with United.
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