Man restrained and "beaten" on EK flight

[pfvspnf]

Family claims elderly man beaten, restrained on Emirates flight to Chicago | abc7chicago.com (http://abc7chicago.com/family-elderly-man-beaten-restrained-on-emirates-flight-to-chicago/2989351/)

What happened ?!

[Cantbebothered]

If he was restrained there was a good reason. Trust an american immigrant to play the "victim card". Probably looking for a pay day. Good luck with that.

[givemewings]

What happened?

A pax was restrained which only happens if they are endangering themselves or others.

Unfortunately restraints often result in injuries to both the crew and the restrained person.

Without photographs or video that's all it is- a claim that he was "beaten". More likely he got injured in the process of restraining which can happen if the person resists or is themselves violent.

Fact is- the pax must have been acting in a manner that endangered himself or the other pax. They don't restrain lightly and without a good reason IMHO. Restraints follow exhausting all other conflict management once those have failed.

Given the wording of the wife it seems she was not on the flight- crew do not "tie up" they handcuff.

[ironbutt57]

Given the wording of the wife it seems she was not on the flight- crew do not "tie up" they handcuff

possible she confused the plastic cuffs as being tied

[Ketek400]

Will have to wait and see, but the crew would not restrain a passenger without serious concerns for his safety and that of other pax on board. Maybe looking for a little extra cash??:uhoh:

[givemewings]

Given the wording of the wife it seems she was not on the flight- crew do not "tie up" they handcuff

possible she confused the plastic cuffs as being tied

Possibly, but a Google brings up several articles that state he was flying aline for the first time.

Another quotes the family as saying he sat in the wrong seat and when the crew moved him there was an issue with luggage of some sort.

I'm guessing it might have been the usual lack of hatrack space but given this spposedly happened 8 hours from Chicago, who knows.

The statement from EK mentions only that he became 'unruly' and was restrained.

Given his age I'm wondering if dementia/confusion was a possibility, also no charges have been laid so perhaps it was a case of restraining him for his own safety...

Guess time will tell

[desert witch]

Agreed cantbebothered.

Emirates doesn't just beat and restrain random passengers.

That behavior is reserved for pursers and pilots. :}

See? I had my laugh today cheerios. Slick. Good for the training college next slogan.

[QCM]

Did he failed his PPC?

[Obbie]

He must have said “Qatar Deserves The Best”.

[Joker11]

Agreed cantbebothered.

Emirates doesn't just beat and restrain random passengers.

That behavior is reserved for pursers and pilots. :}

They looking for new victims. Cabin crew recruitment is back on. Vacancy has been published yesterday.

[Jack330]

72-year-old man hospitalized in Chicago after being bound, beaten on Emirates flight | abc7chicago.com (http://abc7chicago.com/72-year-old-man-hospitalized-after-being-bound-beaten-on-emirates-flight/3001154/)

[sk999]

Accoding to Emirates,

"The passenger was handed over to the authorities on arrival in Chicago."

Whoah boy! Once again, Chicago avation to the rescue. What is it about 72 year old men that airlines do not like? Wonder if these authorities were good friends of Oscar Munoz (CEO of United Airlines):

"... crew members 'were left with no choice but to call Chicago aviation security officers to assist in removing the customer from the flight.'"

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/apr/11/united-airlines-boss-oliver-munoz-says-passenger-belligerent

[PB4]

he was a spy sent by Delta to "equalize" the pressure :)

[pilotguy1222]

Heard from a CC on my flight that the old man pulled up a CC's skirt on the flight.

[motley flight crue]

Can’t be true. In US only white people cause problems.

[givemewings]

Heard from a CC on my flight that the old man pulled up a CC's skirt on the flight.
Wouldn't be the first time a pax has done that. At least sounds like something was done about it on this occasion (I'm guessing if this is what actually happened, he got rowdy when told the behaviour had to stop- pervs usually don't like being outed publicly ime)

[Airbubba]

'The Reverend' Jesse Jackson is predictably on the case. He is sometimes retained for a fee as a 'consultant' in settlements of alleged victimization claims involving diversity issues. We'll see if Emirates pays him off this time.

“This is an egregious and ugly situation,” Rev. Jesse L. Jackson, Sr., founder and president of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, said after meeting Friday afternoon with the battered passenger, David Ukesone, and his family at PUSH headquarters.

The wounds from the restraints around Mr. Ukesone’s wrists and ankles have yet to fully heal and were clearly visible during his meeting at PUSH more than a week after the Jan. 23 flight. Upon landing, Mr. Ukesone was not charged and was rushed to a Chicago hospital where he spent four days.

“He was sick, not dangerous,” Rev. Jackson said.

Rev. Jackson contacted Emirates Airlines Friday to schedule a meeting with company officials as soon as possible to resolve “the situation and to make sure it never happens again.” Rev. Jackson is also scheduling meetings with the ambassadors from Nigeria and the United Arab Emirates.

“This should never have happened,” Rev. Jackson said. “It was excessive and unnecessary violence against anyone, not to mention a 74-year-old man on his first international flight.”

https://rainbowpush.org/blog/media-advisory-rainbow-push

And of course, the alleged perp has filed the customary shakedown lawsuit:

Thursday, February 01, 2018 06:40PM
CHICAGO (WLS) --

A 71-year-old man who says he was bound and beaten on an international flight to Chicago is suing Emirates Airlines.

In the lawsuit, filed this week, lawyers for David Ukesone said he was tied down for eight hours without food or water on a flight from Dubai last week.

Ukesone claims the incident started when the crew members told him he sat in the wrong seat.

The airline said the crew restrained Ukesone because of unruly behavior.

Ukesone said he spent four days in the hospital after the flight.


Man who says he was bound, beaten on flight sues Emirates Airlines | abc7chicago.com (http://abc7chicago.com/man-who-says-he-was-bound-beaten-on-flight-sues-emirates-/3019767/)

A troubling narrative from an eyewitness:

Nigerian immigrant David Ukesone said he was assaulted and detained for sitting in the wrong seat on his first international flight. He said he was bound and beaten by the airline staff.

But Chad Birkholz was a passenger on the plane and says he was sitting one row ahead of Ukesone and across the aisle.

Birkholz says Ukesone had been acting erratically and was pacing back-and-forth, holding his briefcase for nearly two hours before he suddenly grabbed a child.

“I was watching a movie and looked over in the area he was pacing,” Birkholz said. “And the next thing I know, I see him picking up a child and the mother immediately jumping up trying to get her child back.”

Birkholz says Ukesone then slipped into business class, where he caused a commotion.

“He was up there and started to yell and scream,” Birkholz said. “He eventually bit a passenger, broke a finger of one of the flight attendants and had to be restrained.”

Ukesone spent the remainder of the flight, about 8 hours, in restraints.

Witness says passenger was acting erratically before being detained on flight | WGN-TV (http://wgntv.com/2018/02/03/witness-says-passenger-was-acting-erratically-before-being-detained-on-flight/)

[givemewings]

Bit a pax and broke a finger?

The crew should be suing HIM...

[Gulf News]

The eyewitness account tells a completely different story so the truth about what happened probably lies somewhere between the two. Either way I agree with the previous posters he must have been well out of order for the crew to have restrained him. It would be an absolutely last resort.

I really do hope that the law suit ends up in court so that the whole story comes out. Poor judgement on Rev. Jackson’s behalf to jump on this publicity vehicle as I see a crash imminent.

[SOPS]

Class please put these two words in a sentence, victim and card.

[PDR1]

So which one is untrue - the sexual assault on the CC or the generally irrational manic behaviour? They can't both be true.

PDR

[Airbubba]

So which one is untrue - the sexual assault on the CC or the generally irrational manic behaviour? They can't both be true

Why can't they both be true?

Here's an earlier statement from Emirates on the incident:

"Emirates can confirm that Mr Ukesone was a passenger on flight EK235 from Dubai to Chicago on 23 January, and that he had to be restrained by cabin crew due to unruly behaviour during the flight.

"Despite the best efforts of our crew to intervene and reason with him, Mr Ukesone repeatedly disturbed other passengers, refused to remain in his assigned seat, and forced his way into another cabin class.

"He also assaulted crew and bit another passenger. As a consequence he was restrained by our crew. Our cabin crew are highly trained to ensure the safety and security of our passengers, and constantly monitored Mr. Ukesone’s welfare throughout the flight.

"The safety and security of our passengers and crew is of the utmost importance and will not be compromised.

“Upon arrival at the airport, the passenger was handed over to the authorities in Chicago. We would like to take this opportunity to thank the other passengers on the flight for their understanding, in particular the individuals who had assisted our crew during the flight,

The Reverend Jackson held a press conference with Mr. Ukesone on Saturday:

On Saturday, 74-year-old David Ukesone appeared at a press conference at Rainbow PUSH Coalition headquarters in Chicago with bandages around his ankles and wrists after he said he was bound with metal wires for eight hours on board a flight last month.

“They come to the other side and grabbed me here, with iron wire and tied me up,” he said.

Ukesone was flying from Nigeria via Dubai to Chicago on Jan. 23 when he says that airline attendants and security beat and bound him.

“I was tortured,” he said.

Rev. Jesse Jackson said Emirates Airlines used “excessive and unnecessary” violence against him.

Emirates Airlines disagrees, however. The airline issued a statement:

“Mr. Ukesone behaved in an unacceptable manner during the flight, disrupting other passengers and endangering himself and others on the flight…Our crew made every effort to speak with him and to defuse the situation, but he became agitated and was not to be reasoned with. He assaulted our crew and even hit another passenger.”

Passenger Chad Birkholz was on the flight with Ukesone and sat one row over from where the incident took place.

“I’d say he was just confrontational with every flight attendant, even though I saw them a number of times come over and ask him what the issue was.”

Ukesone’s attorney denies that he was disruptive on the plane, and says his client was not charged with a crime. Ukesone says he spent several days in the hospital due to injuries he says he sustained during the restraint.

Rainbow PUSH says they are requesting meetings with Emirates Airlines and Nigerian officials, and also say they are planning on filing a lawsuit.

https://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/man-says-he-was-beaten-bound-on-emirates-airlines-flight-472548323.html

[givemewings]

Just because he was not charged with a crime dies not mean he did not commit one.

The assault would only have been charged should the crew wish to take that route. It's voluntary and up to them.

And unfortunately sexual assault of crew is very common and often follows unruly behaviour. (Although you may not think of the same things as I do when reading the words "sexual assault", unwanted touching does fall into that category and pretty much every female and a good portion of male crew experience this)

As for metal wires, I call BS. Without going into specifics that's not possible.

[GillEx737]

I'm actually surprised they're continuing to push for a lawsuit even with direct statements from the airline and witness statements which back up the crew. But then this is America...stranger things have happened by far and they love a good lawsuit.

[aeropix]

I'm actually surprised they're continuing to push for a lawsuit ...stranger things have happened by far and they love a good lawsuit.

I think these things grow legs on the basis of garnering publicity for the related causes, rather than the pursuit of justice.

[givemewings]

Can't back down, might look like they were actually in the wrong, can't have that, especially once the Card has been played....