File Photo. AFP
A 71-year-old Nigerian man is claiming that an Emirates Airlines flight crew punched him and taped his mouth shut for hours onboard a flight from Dubai to Chicago.
ABC quoted David Ukesone’s attorney as saying that the flight was eight hours away from landing at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport when flight attendants turned hostile.
David Ukesone
"He apparently sits in the wrong seat and was told to change seats by a flight attendant," attorney Howard Schaffner told ABC News. "He didn't think he was in the wrong seat and there was an argument and, at some point, he was hit."
In a statement released by Emirates Airlines, the airline confirmed that an incident occurred.
"Emirates can confirm that a passenger on flight EK235 from Dubai to Chicago on 23 January had to be restrained by cabin crew due to unruly behavior during the flight. The passenger was handed over to the authorities on arrival in Chicago. The safety of our passengers and crew is of the utmost importance and will not be compromised. "
Ukesone was booked from Nigeria via Dubai to Chicago where his wife and two children have immigrated to. The first leg of the journey from Nigeria to Dubai went off without any incidents.
While boarding Ukesone was allotted seat 35D on Emirates flight EK 235. The dispute began when Ukesone returned after using the bathroom and mistakenly sat in a wrong seat.
A flight attendant asked Ukesone to move, which confused him because he claims he thought he was in the proper seat.
"They told him he was in the wrong seat and they laid hands on him to move him and that's when everything escalated," Schaffner added.
According to the ABC report the argument escalated and a member of the crew hit him "at least once" leaving a "large welt on his face."
He was also tied up with a hemp rope from ankles to his head and this left “significant wounds on his wrists and ankles."
Ukesone also claimed that his "mouth was taped" and the crew allegedly left him alone to ride out the rest of flight "without any food or water."
Once the flight landed at Chicago he was removed from the aircraft by the US Customer and Border Patrol and turned over to local authorities. He was taken to the hospital and had to be admitted there for several days. The family members waiting at the airport came to know about the incident after several hours.
"The man did nothing more than sit in the wrong seat," his attorney told abc news. "Even if he's in the wrong seat you don't have to beat the guy."
