Super Bowl winner ‘wrongly handcuffed’ on United flight
United Airlines has issued an apology to NFL Hall of Fame legend Terrell Davis after the two-time Super Bowl champion reported being “wrongly handcuffed” on a flight to California.
Mr. Davis recounted being removed from a United Airlines aircraft last Saturday after a flight attendant accused the former Denver Broncos star of hitting him.
The 51-year-old, who was traveling with his family from Denver, shared his ordeal on social media. He stated that the accusation was false and described feeling “traumatized” by the incident.
United Airlines informed the BBC that the flight attendant has been removed from duty while the matter is investigated and the airline’s policies are reviewed.
In a statement on Instagram, Mr. Davis explained that during the flight’s beverage service, his son had requested a cup of ice.
To get his son the ice, Mr Davis said he “lightly tapped” the flight attendant on the arm to get his attention, only to hear him respond, “Don’t hit me!”
The flight attendant then left the cart and went to the front of the plane, according to the Instagram account.
“I was confused, as were the passengers in front of me who witnessed the exchange, Mr Davis wrote. “I thought nothing of it other than this particular employee was incredibly rude and blatantly wrong in his accusations of me hitting him.”
Mr Davis said that when the plane arrived at Orange County’s John Wayne Airport, he and other passengers were told to remain seated. FBI agents and local authorities then boarded the plane, placed him in handcuffs in front of his wife and three children, and then removed him from the flight.
He said the “entire flight of passengers watched in silence”.
