WARNING: Story contains video that may disturb some viewers.
“I have to go home. I have to go home.”
The man who was dragged off a United Airlines flight from Chicago to Louisville to make room for a standby crew on Sunday can be heard saying those words in one of two videos that were tweeted out on Monday.
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It shows the man repeating “I have to go home” as blood comes out of his mouth and a Chicago policeman speaks to him from the edge of the frame.
Another video shows the same man breathing heavily and saying “just kill me.”
The videos were posted by Twitter user Kaylyn Davis, who said her husband was on the plane.
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The incident unfolded on Sunday, when United Flight 3411 from Chicago to Louisville, Ky. was overbooked.
The airline had randomly asked passengers to give up seats voluntarily so that some staff could take the plane to Louisville.
Staff then approached a man who, according to passengers, said he was a doctor and had to go home to his patients.
READ MORE: United Airlines passenger dragged off overbooked flight after refusing to give up seat
“After our team looked for volunteers, one customer refused to leave the aircraft voluntarily and law enforcement was asked to come to the gate,” United Airlines spokesman Charlie Hobart said in an emailed statement.
Video from the plane shows an aviation security officer grabbing the passenger out of his seat and dragging him toward the front of the plane as his body has gone limp.
Passenger Tyler Bridges posted a video on Twitter in which he claimed the man who was removed from the plane came back on board.
In the video the man can be heard saying, “I have to go home. I have to go home.”
United Airlines said on Monday night that the passenger who was removed ran back on to the plane, according to The Chicago Tribune.
In a letter to employees, United Airlines CEO Oscar Munoz said that when staff approached a passenger to explain that he would be denied boarding, “he raised his voice and refused to comply with crew member instructions.”
Munoz didn’t apologize for the way that staff handled the situation in the letter and noted that the passenger “defied” security officers. He said he stands behind his staff “emphatically.”
But the airline did release a statement from Munoz in which he apologized for “having to re-accommodate these customers.”
The Chicago Department of Aviation has said that the security officer in question did not follow its protocol. He’s been placed on leave pending a review of his actions.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) is reviewing whether the airline followed rules around overbooking.
“While it is legal for airlines to involuntarily bump passengers from an oversold flight when there are not enough volunteers, it is the airline’s responsibility to determine its own fair boarding priorities,” a spokesperson said.
- With files from Global News reporter Emanuela Campanella and Reuters
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