David Anh Duy Dao (born 1948) is a Vietnamese American physician based in Elizabethtown, Kentucky. He previously worked at Hardin Memorial Hospital and owned a medical practice.

He gained fame in April 2017 after videos of him surfaced On_Line where David Dao was forcibly removed from an United Airlines flight, causing International fervor and backlash at the flight carrier.

On (April 9, 2017), Đào boarded a flight with his wife Teresa from Chicago, Illinois to Louisville, Kentucky. They were on vacation in California and had a connecting flight in Chicago. United Airlines Flight 3411, the United Airlines flight on which he boarded, was scheduled at 5:40 PM.

United Airlines staff were looking for four passengers who would be willing to board their next flight to Louisville and would be gifted with $800 and an overnight stay at a hotel. Two people took the offer, but no one else budged.

Rather than raising the price further, the crew randomly selected two passengers.

Using

a computer, they selected Dr. Dao and wife.

They were told to collect their belongings and vacate the aircraft.

However, the Dr. Dao was not willing to leave, as he had patients to attend to the next day.

United Airlines called for the Aviation Police to remove him from the aircraft.

One of the officers eventually grabbed him and forcibly removed him out of his seat.

As this happened, Dr. Dao bumped into an armrest, busting his lip and causing injuries to his face.

He was eventually dragged off the plane by his arms.

He then got back on the United flight.

He was recorded hanging onto a curtain mumbling the phrases, "Just kill me," and, "I have to go home" repeatedly.

United Airlines Flight 3411 eventually departed the gate at 7:42 PM and arrived at the Louisville Airport gate at 10:01 PM, 1 hour and 59 minutes late.

From the night of April 9, 2017, until the morning of April 10, 2017, United Flight 3411 was a trending topic on Twitter and Facebook. One of the videos uploaded to Facebook was shared 87,000 times and viewed 6.8 million times in less than a day.

After watching the recording of the incident, several people were outraged, saying that they would never do business with United again.

The incident was also the #1 trending topic on Weibo, China's version of Twitter, attracting more than 100 million views.

Oscar Munoz, CEO of United Airlines, personally apologized via Twitter, as well:

According to the Chicago Aviation Department, the officer who forcefully took the doctor out of his seat has been put on leave.

Eventually, the other two officers at the scene were put on leave, as well.

On April 13, 2017, during a press conference at the Union League Club of Chicago, his daughter, Crystal Dao Pepper and attorney Thomas A. Demetrio spoke about the injuries David suffered from the incident.

According to a press release two days after the incident, Dao lost two front teeth, broke his nose, suffered a concussion, and incurred injuries to his sinuses. It was reported he needed reconstructive surgery. His attorneys have also filed a chancery motion asking that all evidence in the case be preserved.

According to his lawyer, Dr. David Dao intended to file a lawsuit in Cook County Circuit Court in Illinois, indicating it would target both the airline and the city of Chicago, Illinois, whose Department of Aviation was involved in removing Dao from the plane.

On April 24, 2017, Dao's attorney announced that Dao intends to file a lawsuit against United.

On April 27, 2017, David Dao settled with United Airlines for an undisclosed amount

On October 16, 2003, David Dao’s medical license was suspended by the Kentucky Board of Medical Licensure.

He was sentenced to probation, avoiding a two-year prison sentence.

Dao was charged by federal prosecutors with 98 total counts of giving painkillers and other drugs to patients who didn't need them.

He was also charged with having a homosexual affair with a patient in exchange for prescription drugs.

After serving his sentence and appealing to the Kentucky Board of Medical Licensure, his medical license was partially reinstated on March 2, 2016.

On the evening of when the incident occurred, various media outlets were on the hunt to find David Dao's page, and amidst the limited information concerning sources found on the internet, two names were used to identify his identity.

Initially, the Everipedia community gathered enough information about a doctor David Thanh Duc Dao on the internet which then spread to other publications. The information was later assessed by the Everipedia community and corrected thirty-three minutes after the fact.

As LA Times reporter, Matt Pearce, writes:

Dao was born and raised in Sàigòn in 1948. He attended the local academy to receive his daily education. When he was a teenager in the 1960's, the conflict with the United States erupted into what is now known as the Vietnam War.

Dao would go on to study medicine at Saigon University for a few years until his early 20s. He was reported to be one of the best students in his class by former professors. He graduated in 1974 at the age of 26.

He attained his medical degree from Saigon University in Sàigòn, Vietnam.

Due to achieving high honors during his University medical studies, he entered the military medical division to complete his rotations as a doctor.

He became a well-known teacher of medicine at the military school and due to his high distinction and high-caliber grades, he was never asked to do active duty nor did he engage in active frontline action.

In 1975, when Saigon eventually fell to the Communists forces, David Dao fled Vietnam. He left on a boat heading towards California. (According to his lawyer, Thomas A. Demetrio, David Dao said that being dragged down the aisle was more horrifying and terrible than what he experienced in leaving Vietnam).

After finishing his medical training education in California in 1980, he moved to Indiana where he lived in Michigan City. There, he practiced medicine for some time at a prison complex. He left the job at the prison after an inmate assaulted him during a check up. The experience consisted of an inmate attempting to strangle Dao with his stethoscope.

He left Indiana to intern at a fellowship at the University of Louisville Medical School. He was there until 1986. Toward the late 80's, he lived in Elizabethtown, Kentucky where he was given the opportunity to take over a practice.

After getting into trouble with the law and being charged for sexual allegations with another patient and selling proscription medications, Dao enrolled at the Sullivan Culinary Arts Program.

His cooking mostly consisted of Vietnamese cuisine.

David Dao is married to his wife Teresa, who is also a doctor (pediatrician). They have five kids, four of which are doctors, as well. They are both the same age and met each other as medical students at Saigon University in Saigon before the Vietnam War caused to separate for some time as they made steps to immigrate to the United States.

Dao and Teresa have an elder son who is 34 and also practices medicine in the state of Texas. Their second son Ben is 31 and is currently a medical graduate student. Their daughter is 33 and is a practicing doctor in Durham, North Carolina. Their youngest daughter is 27 years old and is a medical graduate student at the University of Kentucky. The Daos have grandchildren.

Dao has also competed in the World Series of Poker. He has earned over $234,000 playing.

Dao enjoys cooking Vietnamese cuisine which he considers himself an expert. He blends healthy diets in his cooking in his treatment plans for patients as part of perfecting their health regiment.

Dao is an avid gambler and loves to play poker.

Dao looks after himself and has claimed that a healthy lifestyle is the most important aspect of medicine.

United Airlines Flight 3411 on April 9, 2017

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