Following a massive social media outcry against United Airlines after a passenger was forcibly removed from an overbooked flight, the media is now setting its attention on the passenger himself.
The passenger, David Dao, a 69-year-old Vietnamese-American doctor, claimed he needed to remain on the flight in order to attend to patients the next day. According to a passenger who filmed a bloodied Dao being removed from the flight, he became belligerent when the airline randomly selected him to be removed from the flight after no passengers were willing to give up their seats and Chicago Aviation Security Officers were brought in to remove him.
As the online debate rages over United’s treatment of Dao, reporters have begun to dig into the doctor’s background. The result has been reports suggesting the doctor has a questionable past.
According to a 2003 filing with the Kentucky Board of Medical Licensure, Dao was arrested for drug-related offenses following an undercover investigation. He was also placed on five years supervised probation following multiple felony drug and fraud charges, according to the Louisville Courier-Journal.
Dao is recovering at a Chicago hospital and told WKLY he is not doing well.
