Elderly Asian man thrown out of flight in US; social media erupts in anger

Video posted online shows man being dragged off by a United Airlines plane in the US.

New York, April 11: It is not just in India where alleged fights between passengers and crew members of airlines create national headlines. An incident involving the crew members of United Airline, who allegedly dragged and violently removed an elderly man of Asian-origin from one of their aircrafts, created a huge social media debate.

The entire episode, involving one of the United Airlines flights and an Asian-origin doctor, was filmed and posted on Twitter by a couple of passengers of that ill-fated journey.

"The footage taken inside the airliner shows a man being violently pulled out of his seat and dragged down the aisle as passengers prepared to take off from Chicago to Louisville on Sunday evening," reported BBC.

The video of the incident posted on the Twitter account @Tyler_Bridges shows three security officers huddling over the seated passenger, who appears to be an older Asian man, before dragging him on the floor.

Another passenger Jayse D Anspach, who goes by @JayseDavid on Twitter, wrote about the entire incident in tweets:

"No one volunteered (to leave), so @United decided to choose for us. They chose an Asian doctor and his wife," Anspach tweeted. "It looked like he was knocked out, because he went limp and quiet," Anspach wrote, "and they dragged him out of the plane like a rag doll."

Following the massive social media outcry, the United Airlines has tweeted an apology for what happened and says it is investigating the matter.

According to Reuters, the aviation security officer who dragged the passenger to make room for employees has been placed on leave on Monday. The officer -- one of three involved in the Sunday night incident -- did not follow protocol, according to a statement from the Chicago Department of Aviation, and as a result "has been placed on leave effective today pending a thorough review of the situation."

OneIndia News