9日，一名男子被芝加哥奥黑尔国际机场的航空警员强行带下一架美联航航班，其他数名乘客录下了这一事件。
乘客奥德拉•布里奇斯发布在脸书网上的视频显示，警员们猛力抓住该乘客，然后将其拖拽到飞机过道上，视频中可以听到其他乘客尖叫惊呼“哦，天啊”、“看看你们对他做了什么”。这是一架飞往肯塔基州路易斯维尔市的航班。
The airline said in a statement that the flight was overbooked, and that no passengers agreed to voluntarily give up their seats. United said airline representatives chose four passengers to leave the plane at random based on ticket class, frequent flier status and check-in time, and that one man selected refused to leave his seat.
美联航在一份声明中表示，该航班出现超售，且没有乘客愿意自愿放弃座位。美联航称，地勤人员根据机票的舱位、是否为常飞旅客以及办理登记手续的时间随机选择让4名乘客下飞机，而被选中的一名男子拒绝离开自己的座位。
Officials then requested the assistance of law enforcement, who forcibly removed the man. Four crew members needed to get on the flight in order to work another one in Louisville or else that flight would be canceled, airline spokeswoman Maddie King said.
美联航员工随后要求执法者协助，该男子被执法者强行带下飞机。美联航发言人麦蒂•金表示，四名机组成员需要搭乘这趟航班到路易斯维尔市的另一趟航班上工作，否则那趟航班将被取消。
The Chicago aviation department said later that one of the officers did not follow protocol and had been placed on leave pending a review. Federal transportation officials said they were reviewing whether United complied with overbook rules.
芝加哥航空局随后表示，其中一名警员违规执法，已被停职等待审查。联邦运输局的官员表示，他们正在审查美联航是否遵守了超售机票的规定。
Passengers from the flight reported that the man was eventually allowed back on the flight, face bloodied and looking confused. Video seems to confirm that, although the reason why is unclear.
据这架航班上的乘客称，最终该男子被允许返回机上，他满脸是血，看起来神志不清。视频似乎证实了这一点，不过原因尚不清楚。
According to Bridges, the man is a doctor and told flight officials he was due for a shift at his hospital.
据布里奇斯称，该男子是一名医生，他告诉飞行人员自己需要到医院上班。
"This is an upsetting event to all of us here at United," airline CEO Oscar Munoz said in a statement to the Guardian. "I apologize for having to re-accommodate these customers. Our team is moving with a sense of urgency to work with the authorities and conduct our own detailed review of what happened."
美联航首席执行官奥斯卡•穆尼奥斯在《卫报》发表声明称，“该事件令全体美联航员工感到沮丧。我为被迫重新安置这些旅客表示歉意。美联航迅速配合有关部门，并对事件的经过进行详细的自我审查。”
In a statement the Chicago police department said that the man became "irate" after he was asked to disembark and that he "fell" when aviation officers "attempted to carry the individual off the flight... His head subsequently struck an armrest causing injuries to his face."
芝加哥警察局在一份声明中称，该男子因被要求下机而变得十分“恼火”，当航空警察“试图将他带下飞机时，他‘跌倒了’……头部撞上了扶手，导致面部受伤。”
The airlines contract of carriage, an agreement that all customers assent to when booking, does give United the freedom to deny ticketed passengers travel if a flight is overbooked. Passengers are entitled to either cash or a flight landing near the same time as compensation.
所有乘客订购机票时都要遵守航空运输合同，合同中确实允许美联航在航班超售时拒绝已购票的旅客乘机。乘客有权得到现金或搭乘邻近时间落地的航班作为补偿。
United also reserves the right to remove passengers from a flight if they "fail to comply with or interfere with the duties of the members of the flight crew".
如果乘客“不遵守或者干扰机组成员的职责”，那么美联航有权将乘客带下飞机。
不过，这些解释并没有让网友满意，推特上出现了针对美联航的吐槽大会。
面对舆论风暴，穆尼奥斯11日不得不发表声明再次道歉，说美联航对这一事件“负全部责任”，将进行详细调查，并在4月30日前公布调查结果。他称：
"I deeply apologize to the customer forcibly removed and to all the customers aboard. No one should ever be mistreated this way."
“我对那名被暴力带离航班的乘客和航班上所有乘客表示深深的歉意，永远不应该有人被如此虐待。”
美媒报道，美联航暴力驱客事件的受害者系从越南移民的美国华裔医生陶大卫。11日，陶大卫称：“一切都受到了伤害（Everything is injured）”。其代理律师表示：
"The family of Dr. Dao wants the world to know that they are very appreciative of the outpouring of prayers, concerns and support they have received. Currently, they are focused only on Dr. Dao's medical care and treatment."
“陶医生全家想让全世界知道，他们对来自各界的祝福、关心、支持表示感激。目前，他们仅关注于陶医生的护理和治疗。”
商业内幕网报道，白宫发言人斯派塞11日在例行吹风会上说，9日发生的美联航暴力驱逐乘客下机事件“令人困扰”（disturbed）。报道称：
"I don't think anyone looks at the video and isn't a little disturbed that another human being is treated that way," Spicer said.
斯派塞说：“我认为任何看到视频的人，对一个人遭到那样方式的对待，都不会无动于衷。”
Spicer said he was sure President Donald Trump had seen the video as well.
他说，他确定美国总统特朗普也已看到视频。
据CNN网站财经频道报道，受到此次赶客事件的影响，11日美联航股票下跌超过1%，损失市值2.5亿美元。
Of the 613 million people who flew on major US carriers in 2015, 46,000 were involuntarily denied boarding, according to data from the Department of Transportation - less than 0.008%.
据美国交通运输部的数据显示，2015年美国主要航空公司共搭载6.13亿乘客，有46000人被强制拒载，占比不到0.008%。
The majority of those would have been informed before they boarded the flight, said Charles Leocha, the founder of passenger advocacy group Travelers United. He could not remember seeing a passenger violently dragged off a plane. "It turned my stomach," he said.
乘客利益组织“Travelers United”的创始人查尔斯•莱昂查称，大多数被拒载的乘客在登机前将得到通知。他不记得自己曾见过乘客被暴力拖下飞机。他说：“这一行为让我感到恶心。”
US fliers have become resigned to chronic delays and poor service, according to Mr Leocha, and a lack of readily available information about their rights meant they were too dependent on the airline managers in situations like these.
据莱昂查称，美国飞机旅客对于航班长期延误和劣质的服务已经逆来顺受。乘客无法轻易了解到他们的权利，这使他们在此类情况中过于依赖航空公司管理人员。