The fact that an incident is unexpected does not require those organisations involved not to be prepared.
The increase in camera incident capture no doubt helps investigators providing an important extra dimension in the post incident analysis. However these images are also made available to feed the media craving for sensationalist news. The public love a drama and the media requirement for apportioning immediate blame and identifying the cause needs to be satisfied. The absence of an 'official line'' has heralded an array of pundits and experts who are put up for interview. Whilst not wishing to speculate on the cause in front of the microphone, they follow that comment by doing just that!
It is inevitable that accident/incident investigation and analysis to determine cause requires the time and the attention of very skilled individuals and thus the media wish for communicating immediate cause does not sit well with the need for providing measured accurate skilled accident investigation and suggests mutual exclusivity. The days, weeks ,months of careful investigation and analysis post accident do not exist to satisfy the needs of news thirsty media. The need is to identify an event or events, mechanical failure or human shortcoming with the objective to minimise or avoid a future repetition of the event.
An observation of recent air transport negative issues indicates that the industry crisis management divisions to a wide extent remain unprepared for the unscheduled issues that occur. This allows the media feeding frenzy to not let absence of immediate facts get in the way of a good story. By the time the organisational management have got their act together, the media have broadcast the drama, lost interest and moved on, leaving the accurate detail ignored, and the public misinformed.
The British Midland Kegworth accident 20 years ago became a case study of how to ensure a major accident didn't become a drama, with the airline staying ahead of the speculators. And yet 20 years on the availability of a text book response is ignored and the same old mistakes continue with speculation and inaccuracy of detail occupying the high media ground.
Specialist crisis management companies do exist to assist business in this very specialist area. How many organisations believe that they can ''get away with it'' based upon the held view that these situations will not happen to them and so remain completely unprepared- is this an issue based upon cultural approach or are these just the same organisations that deliver a questionable approach to normal everyday customer service?
There exists a critical first 5 hour media period where the absence of a proactive, undramatic and informed response will result in all the 'experts' providing a purely speculative,uninformed and often incorrect analysis of the incident, often with resulting negative impact on the organisation involved- an image that often stays in the public eye years after. Some senior management in certain organisations still believe a head office team designated to lead the business response will be the only effective method of media management. Even when the incident may be 15 hours flying time from head office and with them in the air en route to the incident scene and thus unavailable for comment over the critical first 5 hour period.
With so much budget put aside for 'positive' advertising and brand promotion, so little time and effort for crisis management is the order of the day in many organisations. Many involved in air transport seem naively prepared for the most important and most negative media issue that they all hope will never happen to them. This is a time to be proactive with the media, not reactive
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