Q: Regarding the United passenger who was pulled off the plane for refusing to give up his seat, I thought it was a federal crime to disobey any orders from a flight crew. If so, couldn’t United have simply told this passenger quietly that if he did not give up his seat, he would be arrested when he got off the plane at his destination?
—Richard H. Siegel, Atlanta
A: Federal law prohibits passengers from interfering with or lessening the ability of flight crew members to perform their duties, according to the Justice Department website, under U.S. Code Title 49, Section 46504.
They would take the position that he was "interfering with a flight crew," Joel Smiler, hotline director for flyersrights.org, told Q&A on the News via email. As such, Smiler said, Dr. David Dao would be subject to arrest at either end of the trip by federal authorities, but not by local aviation law enforcement.
In the United case, Dao was not removed from the plane by federal authorities.
Instead, three Chicago Department of Aviation officers were placed on administrative leave for their involvement in the April 9 incident in which Dao was dragged off a United Express flight after he refused to give up his seat at the request of flight crew members, according to media reports.
Fast Copy News Service wrote this column; Shannon Dominy contributed. Do you have a question? We’ll try to get the answer. Call 404-222-2002 or email q&a@ajc.com (include name, phone and city).
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