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Journalism of Courage
Videos of a passenger being dragged by his hands on a plane have created huge outcry on social media. The shocking incident took place on Sunday (April 9) on a United Airlines flight that headed from Chicago to Louisville in the US.
The man seen as seen in the videos appears to be an Asian was manhandled after he refused to give up his seat to a United employee who “needed to be in Louisville” for a flight the following day, The Courier-Journal reported.
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On of the passenger in the flight United Flight 3411, Audra Bridges posted the entire video on his Facebook page that has now gone viral. The 31-second clip shows three uniformed security officials wearing radio equipment and security jackets speaking with a man seated on the plane. After a few seconds, one of the men grabs the passenger by his arm and drags him along the aisle as he yells and protests. Fellow passengers too could be heard protesting in shock and fear.
In Bridges’ video, a woman can also be heard asking “Can’t they rent a car for the pilots and have them drive?”
Following a serious backlash on social media, as many clips and pictures from the flight went viral and United Airlines dominated Twitter Trend, the CEO came out and apologised, however only for “overbooking” and nothing was said about the misconduct. United CEO said,”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.”
Many commuters said that the international carriers told passengers at the gate that the flight was overbooked. The airlines offered $400 and a hotel accommodation and were looking for one volunteer to take another flight to Louisville the following day. However, no one agreed. Describing the incident another passenger, Jayse D. Anspach said, “No one volunteered, so @United decided to choose for us. They chose an Asian doctor and his wife.”
It has now been reported by Associated Press that the officer involved in dragging man off the aircraft has been placed on leave, the Chicago aviation department said.
https://twitter.com/Tyler_Bridges/status/851214160042106880
https://twitter.com/CSBancroft_poet/status/851430686233960449
https://twitter.com/hoguelab5760/status/851500313966067714
https://twitter.com/seankent/status/851474342886113280
https://twitter.com/TheProWave/status/851504402024235010
https://twitter.com/kktingle/status/851419851193282560
https://twitter.com/HankTina/status/851513460361920513
There were severe protests after the offical statement too.
https://twitter.com/SpikeyOC/status/851496971726487552
https://twitter.com/KateRoss_96/status/851415785394274304
This is not the first time the airlines has been slammed for its actions. Last month two girls dressed in leggings were denied boarding on a United flight from Denver to Minneapolis because of their form-fitting pants.
