--- description: The daughter of Dr. David Dao, the passenger who was forcibly removed from a United Airlines, said the incident "sickened" her family. title: David Dao's Daughter Says the United Airlines Incident 'Sickened' His Family image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8a4e94f78dbb7a82/6988c2a90b72e38db86ed530/united-airlines-terminal.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [U.S.](/section/us/) ## U.S. Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Aviation](/tag/aviation/) ## Aviation Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # David Dao's Daughter Says the United Airlines Incident 'Sickened' His Family ## Video: ‘This Will Never Happen Again’: United Won’t Use Police to Remove Passengers [Watch (HLS stream): ‘This Will Never Happen Again’: United Won’t Use Police to Remove Passengers](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/a2C0EKWT.m3u8) (3:24)  _Published 2017-04-12. The chief executive of United Airlines said the carrier will no longer ask police to remove passengers from full flights after the uproar over a man who was dragged off a plane by airport officers in Chicago._  by [Melissa Chan](/author/melissa-chan/)  ## Melissa Chan Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Updated: Dec 13, 2023 9:28 AM CUTPublished: Apr 13, 2017 3:33 PM CUT  NEWARK, NJ - JULY 08: The United Airlines terminal is viewed at Newark Liberty Airport on July 8, 2015 in Newark, New Jersey. A computer system glitch caused thousands of United Airlines flights throughout major airports to be grounded Wednesday morning. The issue was resolved by late morning with some ripple delays still being felt at airports throughout the country. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images) NEWARK, NJ - JULY 08: The United Airlines terminal is viewed at Newark Liberty Airport on July 8, 2015 in Newark, New Jersey. A computer system glitch caused thousands of United Airlines flights throughout major airports to be grounded Wednesday morning. The issue was resolved by late morning with some ripple delays still being felt at airports throughout the country. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)Spencer Platt—Getty Images  by [Melissa Chan](/author/melissa-chan/)  ## Melissa Chan Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Updated: Dec 13, 2023 9:28 AM CUTPublished: Apr 13, 2017 3:33 PM CUT An attorney for Dr. David Dao, the passenger who was [forcibly removed](http://time.com/4737301/united-airlines-oscar-munoz-david-dao/ "undefined") from a [United Airlines](http://time.com/4735588/united-airlines-video-overbooked-reaccommodate-oscar-munoz/ "undefined") flight Sunday, warned of a [likely lawsuit](http://time.com/4737240/united-airlines-david-dao-sue/ "undefined") against the company Thursday as he condemned the airline for using “unreasonable force and violence” to remove Dao. Crystal Dao Pepper, one of Dao’s daughters, said her family was “horrified” to see her 69-year-old father on video being violently dragged out of his seat and down the aisle of a United Airlines flight after he refused to give up his seat to a United crew member. “It has been a very difficult time for our entire family, especially my dad,” she said at a news conference with his lawyers. “What happened to my dad should have never happened to any human being regardless of the circumstance. We were horrified and shocked and sickened to learn what had happened to him and see what had happened to him. We hope that in the future nothing like this happens again.” “Seeing it on video made those emotions exacerbated,” she added. Dao lost his two front teeth, broke his nose and suffered a “significant concussion” from the incident, which ignited intense outrage across the globe. Dao was discharged from the hospital late last night and has “absolutely zippo memory” of the confrontation, said Thomas Demetrio, one of the lawyers representing Dao. “He’s shaken,” Demetrio said, adding that Dao will undergo reconstructive surgery. The attorney accused United of repeating a pattern of bullying its paying customers and suggested Dao’s legal team may pursue legal action to spur an “international discussion” on how airlines should treat its passengers. “We want fairness in how people treat us. We want respect and we want dignity. That’s it,” Demetrio said at the [news conference.](http://time.com/4738128/united-airlines-david-dao-watch-live/ "undefined") “Will there be a lawsuit? Yes, probably,” he added. Demetrio said he wants Dao to become a champion in the upcoming battle against maltreatment by airlines. “I hope that’s what happens. I hope he becomes a poster child for all of us,” he said. “Someone’s got to.” United expressed remorse over the incident again in a [statement](http://newsroom.united.com/news-releases?item=124756 "undefined") it issued after the press conference. “This horrible situation has provided a harsh learning experience from which we will take immediate, concrete action,” the statement said. “We have committed to our customers and our employees that we are going to fix what’s broken so this never happens again.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4738429/david-dao-united-airlines/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4738429/david-dao-united-airlines/"},"headline":"David Dao's Daughter Says the United Airlines Incident 'Sickened' His Family","datePublished":"2017-04-13T15:33:44.000Z","dateModified":"2023-12-13T09:28:02.000Z","description":"\"What happened to my dad should have never happened to any human being\"","url":"https://time.com/4738429/david-dao-united-airlines/","keywords":["Aviation","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8a4e94f78dbb7a82/6988c2a90b72e38db86ed530/united-airlines-terminal.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Melissa Chan","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/melissa-chan/"}],"articleSection":"U.S.","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8a4e94f78dbb7a82/6988c2a90b72e38db86ed530/united-airlines-terminal.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"170413_United Airlines terminal","caption":"United Airlines Grounds All Flights Worldwide After Computer Glitch","creditText":"Spencer Platt—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/us/","name":"U.S."}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/aviation/","name":"Aviation"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4738429/david-dao-united-airlines/","name":"David Dao's Daughter Says the United Airlines Incident 'Sickened' His Family"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"‘This Will Never Happen Again’: United Won’t Use Police to Remove Passengers","description":"The chief executive of United Airlines said the carrier will no longer ask police to remove passengers from full flights after the uproar over a man who was dragged off a plane by airport officers in Chicago.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/a2C0EKWT/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2017-04-12T21:34:29.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/a2C0EKWT.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4738429/david-dao-united-airlines/","duration":"PT3M24S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4738429/david-dao-united-airlines/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```