The Kentucky doctor who found himself at the center of a
media maelstrom two years ago after he was injured while being dragged forcibly
off a United Express flight has spoken publicly for the first time
since the incident.
In an interview with ABC News, David Dao said that he when
he got around to watching the video of Chicago aviation department police
officers pulling him from the plane after he refused to surrender his seat to
employees of Republic Airways, the United Express flight's contracted operating carrier,
he cried.
Dao suffered a concussion, a broken nose and two lost teeth
in the incident. He entered into a settlement agreement with United for an
undisclosed amount a few weeks later.
The incident garnered worldwide headlines, and Dao said he
chose to hide from the resulting attention.
"I stay for month. Months in the house," he told
ABC's Amy Robach.
But Dao also said that he has forgiven those involved.
"The most important thing is the accident turned out
the positive way," the Vietnam native said. "Airline business willing
to change policy."
The incident led to changes by U.S. airlines in how they
handle overbookings. United for example, upped the amount that gate agents are
allowed to offer passengers to voluntarily give up a seat to $10,000.
Previously, agents had to get supervisory approval for any offer more than
$500. Southwest, meanwhile, decided soon after the Dao incident to stop
overbooking entirely at the point of sale.
The frequency with which mainline U.S. airlines
involuntarily denied boarding to passengers dropped from .62 per 10,000
passengers in the final quarter before the Dao incident to .19 per 10,000
passengers during the last three months of 2018, according to DOT statistics.