It’s been more than two weeks since Chicago Department Of Aviation police officers forcibly dragged Kentucky physician Dr. David Dao off of a United Airlines flight, sparking an enormous backlash against both United and the overall misery of air travel. Now, according to the Chicago Sun-Times, United and Dao have reached some sort of settlement, with a statement saying that it was “amicable” for both parties. The specific terms of the deal haven’t been released, but it’s safe to assume that Dao is getting a decent financial settlement.
Dao was dragged off of the plane because he refused to surrender his seat to a United employee, and when the aviation cops tried to take him off anyway, he suffered a concussion, a broken nose, and lost two teeth. Since then, things have gotten progressively worse for United, with the internet calling out CEO Oscar Munoz for a bullshit non-apology, a separate United passenger getting attacked by a scorpion, Munoz issuing a second apology for his first apology, and then just this week a famously enormous rabbit mysteriously dying on a United flight.
This settlement definitely doesn’t signify the end of United’s PR troubles, but the company is probably happy that it no longer has to worry about Dr. Dao ripping it apart in court, at least.