United Airlines had nothing to do with beating the poor doctor

[MADem]

53. Though it seems counterintuitive, that is correct.

When that passenger refused the orders of the aircrew, under FAA regs, he became an "unruly passenger."

Thus, the charge of assault by police against him won't fly. He disobeyed, and the aircrew took steps to enforce compliance by calling in the police to remove him. You could try making "unreasonable force" arguments, but I don't know how much anyone actually SAW with three hulking fellows surrounding that guy. And again, he was the "unruly passenger" who refused to comply with aircrew demands, so he has no leg to stand on. There's no video of the cops doing anything beyond dragging the guy down the aisle.

Technically, he could be fined and imprisoned for failing to obey the orders of the aircrew to vacate the seat. No, I'm not kidding.

People don't have "rights" --civil or otherwise -- on airplanes. This isn't a Trump thing, either (though it does seem that law enforcement brutality is exercised "con brio" under the Trump regime) -- it's an FAA thing.

Again, because this is DU and people sometimes misinterpret, I am not "pro-airline" in this matter at all but I do know how the game is played. I think UNITED needs to find a better way to get their crews on station--they can't rely on buying seats from passengers who don't want to vacate. Maybe they should consider getting a NETJETS subscription and fly their staff on private LEARS? It would probably be just as cheap in the long run, and with fewer issues....