Sackings for dragging passenger from plane

UNITED STATES: Two airport security officers have been fired and two others suspended for their roles in forcibly removing a doctor from a United Airlines flight in April at the Chicago O’Hare International Airport, a raucous scene that was recorded on cellphones and spread around the world.

The news that the Chicago Department of Aviation had taken the disciplinary action came in a quarterly report from the city’s Office of Inspector General released yesterday. It wasn’t clear when the department acted.

The officers ‘‘mishandled a nonthreatening situation,’’ which led to the ‘‘violent’’ removal of the 69-year-old passenger, David Dao, the inspector general’s report said. Three of the officers also attempted to cover up details of the incident in their reports. The officers were not named.

One security officer was fired because he ‘‘improperly escalated the incident’’, while a security sergeant was fired for deliberately removing facts from a report on the incident, according to the OIG. One of the officers was suspended for two days, and the other for five.

The aviation department also said it was reviewing its policies and procedures in light of the incident.

Cellphone video of the April 9 incident, captured by at least two passengers, showed officers forcibly pulling Dao out of his seat and to the floor of the aircraft. He hit his head on an armrest.

The officers then dragged a screaming and bloody Dao by the arms down the aisle of the Louisville-bound airplane before it took off from the Chicago O’Hare International Airport, while other passengers looked on with horrified expressions.

United Airlines said he was removed because the flight was overbooked and four United employees needed to fly to Louisville.

When no-one offered to give up their seats, the airline told four people to leave. Dao refused to give up his seat. –