MONTREAL - AN IRKED Canadian musician who accused United Airlines of breaking his prized guitar has taken his revenge, writing a song that has become an Internet hit and a public relations disaster for the airline.

Dave Carroll composed United Breaks Guitars and posted it on YouTube after he said the airline damaged his treasured Taylor acoustic at Chicago's O'Hare airport last year.

'We were sitting at the back of the plane with the band, and a woman who didn't know we were musicians yells out, 'Oh, my God they're throwing guitars outside',' Carroll told local media.

After months of trying to get the airline to pay compensation and help repair the C$3,500 instrument (S$4,375), Carroll changed tack.

'I had this sort of epiphany,' he told the Canadian Broadcasting Company, 'I'm going to write... songs about your airlines and I'm going to put them on YouTube and talk about my experience.'

On Thursday, United Breaks Guitars had nearly half a million views on YouTube and had been covered by major news networks in Canada and the United States.

The video features the folk-rockers looking on in horror as United ground staff play clumsy catch with the guitar case and pound it with mallets. -- AFP

View United Breaks Guitars here on YouTube