United passenger dragged off plane speaks out after CEO apologises

The passenger who was filmed being dragged screaming from a United Airlines flight has told a TV station he is not doing well.

David Dao, a doctor from Kentucky, told WLKY TV he was still recovering in hospital in Chicago after having injured "everything".

His lawyers released a statement thanking people for their concern and confirming the 69-year-old is still undergoing treatment.

Stephen L Golan of Golan Christie Taglia, and Thomas A Demetrio of Corboy & Demetrio, said: "The family of Dr Dao wants the world to know that they are very appreciative of the outpouring of prayers, concern and support they have received.

"Currently, they are focused only on Dr Dao's medical care and treatment."

They jointly said that until Dr Dao is released from hospital, his family is asking for privacy and would not be making any further statements.

United Airlines chief executive Oscar Munoz has confirmed that the company will no longer use law enforcement officers to remove passengers.

He also told ABC News he would not be resigning over Dr Dao's treatment and the subsequent public relations disaster.

Mr Munoz had earlier put out a statement apologising for the doctor's forced removal from the overbooked flight in Chicago.

Following his initial defiance over the incident, Mr Munoz said he was sorry for the "truly horrific event".

Footage of a bloodied Dr Dao being dragged off an overbooked flight on Sunday night quickly went viral.

The video - which has been watched more than 210 million times on China's Weibo social media platform alone - has caused millions to be wiped off the value of the company

Shares in the airline's parent company United Continental Holdings fell 4% early on Tuesday.

Following Mr Munoz's apologetic second statement the company recovered much of the loss to settle 1.5% lower.

:: Watch: Eyewitness describes plane fracas

In his apology, Mr Munoz said: "The truly horrific event that occurred on this flight has elicited many responses from all of us: outrage, anger, disappointment.

"I share all of those sentiments, and one above all: my deepest apologies for what happened.

"Like you, I continue to be disturbed by what happened on this flight and I deeply apologise to the customer forcibly removed and to all the customers aboard. No one should ever be mistreated this way.

"I want you to know that we take full responsibility and we will work to make it right."

It was a stark change from an initial memo to employees in which he blamed the incident on the fact Dr Dao had "defied" security officers.

The first memo said there were lessons the company could learn, though Mr Munoz stressed he "emphatically" stood behind his employees.

But the second statement said: "It's never too late to do the right thing. I have committed to our customers and our employees that we are going to fix what's broken so this never happens again."

Mr Munoz promised "a thorough review of crew movement, our policies for incentivising volunteers in these situations, (and) how we handle oversold situations".

He added: "We'll communicate the results of our review by 30 April. I promise you we will do better."

The Chicago Department of Aviation confirmed a breach of protocol by one of its officers and said he was put on leave pending a review.