Video of the ordeal made its way to Twitter today, showing a seated passenger on a United Airlines flight to Louisville Kentucky being violently removed from his seat when he refused to give up his seat.
@united @FoxNews @CNN not a good way to treat a Doctor trying to get to work because they overbooked pic.twitter.com/sj9oHk94Ik
— Tyler Bridges (@Tyler_Bridges) April 9, 2017
More video has made its way to the internet, showing the passenger clutching for his life at the rear of the plane, muttering to himself repeatedly, “Just Kill Me.”
#flythefriendlyskies @united no words. This poor man!! pic.twitter.com/rn0rbeckwT
— Kaylyn Davis (@kaylyn_davis) April 10, 2017
#flythefriendlyskies my husband was on that flight. Screw you United!! @united pic.twitter.com/4EcxrMy5jZ
— Kaylyn Davis (@kaylyn_davis) April 10, 2017
United Airlines says the crew and staff acted within policy when asking the man to vacate the seat after he was randomly selected by computer to be replaced to allow the United crew to make their way to Louisville for another flight they were scheduled to work.
United Airlines issued a statement from their CEO Oscar Munoz, saying they were conducting their own “detailed review.”
“This is an upsetting event to all of us here at United,” Munoz said in the statement. “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 detailed review of what happened. We are also reaching out to this passenger to talk directly to him and further address and resolve this situation.”