David Dao, 69, the suddenly famous doctor who was dragged off of the United flight, is now pursing legal action against the airline, according to his lawyer.
On Wednesday Dao’s lawyers filed an emergency request at the Illinois state court to require United and the city of Chicago to preserve the recordings, cockpit voice recordings, passenger list, and other evidence pertaining to the incident on Sunday night.
@united @CNN @FoxNews @WHAS11 Man forcibly removed from plane somehow gets back on still bloody from being removed pic.twitter.com/njS3nC0pDl
— Tyler Bridges (@Tyler_Bridges) April 10, 2017
Seats were needed for four crew members, and after Dao refused to deplane due to overbooking, Dao was dragged away from his seat by his hands, on his back, by security officers. The security officers have been placed on leave, according to the Chicago Department of Aviation.
United Chief Executive Officer Oscar Muñoz apologized on Wednesday saying the company would no longer rely on officers to remove passengers from overbooked flights.
Dao’s graphic removal was recorded and immediately went viral on social media. The uproar led many to call for a United boycott and the resignation of CEO Muñoz after his first apology failed to address Dao.
In an ABC interview on Wednesday, Muñoz apologized to Dao, his family, and the passengers aboard the flight. “This can never, will never happen again,” Muñoz said.
Dao is scheduled to hold a press conference on Thursday.
