United Airlines has admitted that it accidentally placed NFL Hall of Famer Terrell Davis on its ‘No Fly List’ following a bizarre altercation with a flight attendant over a request for a cup of ice.
In an update to his 130,000 followers on Instagram, Davis said on Tuesday that United Airlines had sent him notice of being banned from traveling with the carrier following the July 13 incident onboard a flight from Denver to Orange County.
Davis ended up being placed in handcuffs and frogmarched off a United Airlines plane after a flight attendant accused of hitting him when he ‘tapped’ the crew member’s arm in an attempt to get his attention to request some ice.
The incident unfolded after the flight attendant apparently missed Davis’ row during the beverage service and quickly escalated when the crew member appears to have overreacted and rushed to the front of the plane to request the FBI.
Davis was detained by law enforcement and the FBI before it was quickly determined that he had done nothing wrong and was released.
Pending a lawsuit against United Airlines, Davis said in a statement posted to Instagram on Wednesday: “This company not only wrongfully accused me of something I did not do and had me handcuffed and detained, but they have failed on so many levels to demonstrate any genuine empathy for my family’s experience.”
“I was banned on this airline even after they sent a media-issued statement with a boilerplate ‘apology’,” Davis continued.
United Airlines has, however, admitted that it accidentally placed Davis on its No-Fly List and that a day after the letter was sent, the airline reached out to his team to rescind the ban.
In a statement, a spokesperson for United explained: “We have apologized to Mr. Davis for his experience and continue to review our handling of incidents like this to protect our highest priority – the safety of our customers and crew.“
The airline has also confirmed that the flight attendant involved in this incident has been terminated following a decision to remove him from duty shortly after the altercation was made public.
United Airlines has spent years trying to change perceptions of its brand following the infamous Dr David Dao incident in 2018, which saw one of its customers left bruised, bloodied and battered when they were forcibly dragged off a plane because United had overbooked the flight.
United’s flight attendants and ground staff are generally advised to de-escalate situations, and this was very much evident during the pandemic when the carrier took a far less combative attitude towards passengers who flouted the federal face mask mandate.
Davis’ attorney says they he still intends to file a lawsuit against United Airlines in the coming weeks.
