United Avoids Punishment in Dragging Incident

Federal officials will not penalize United Airlines for April's infamous dragging incident in which passenger David Dao was forcibly removed from an overbooked flight at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport.

Dao lost teeth and suffered a broken nose and a concussion during the disturbing incident, which went viral shortly after, resulting in tremendous and widespread backlash for United.

According to the Associated Press, The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) informed the Chicago-based airline of its decision back on May 12. However, it wasn't made public until Wednesday when advocacy group, Flyers Rights, released the letter through an open-records request.

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DOT Assistant General Counsel Blane Workie cited a lack of evidence that United violated Dao's civil rights. The department also said that it found no evidence that the airline violated rules pertaining to bumping passengers. 

"Therefore, we conclude that enforcement action is not warranted in this matter," Workie wrote in the letter to United.

United reached a settlement with Dao just weeks after the incident, but financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. 

"Every customer deserves to be treated with the highest levels of service and the deepest sense of dignity and respect. Two weeks ago, we failed to meet that standard and we profoundly apologize," United CEO Oscar Munoz said in an April statement confirming the settlement. "However, actions speak louder than words. Today, we are taking concrete, meaningful action to make things right and ensure nothing like this ever happens again."

The incident also sparked a series of policy changes at United.

The airline announced in April that it will no longer contact law enforcement officers for assistance unless there is a safety or security issue, nor will it not force a seated passenger to give up their spot involuntarily unless a threat is posed. United has also boosted passenger compensation incentives for voluntary denied boarding to $10,000.

READ MORE: Legislation Introduced in Response to United Incident

"This incident should never have happened and we are implementing all of the improvements we announced in April," United spokeswoman Megan McCarthy said in a statement on Wednesday.

"While we still have work to do, we have made meaningful strides and have reduced the bumping of passengers nearly 90 percent since May 1, compared with the same period last year."

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