When I heard about the crash of the TAM Airbus 320 this morning in Sao Paulo, my first thoughts were for the victims, their families, and then to the rescue and support staff.
Then, I wanted to issue kind of a warning via this blog. After each air disaster, the media get frenzy with information they get from anyone and by any way. Given the emotional and mediatic impact of such a crash, but also due to its possible economical impacts, a nasty game could (pessimistic people would say will) start.
On one hand, the airline, on the other hand, the aircraft manufacturer. Most of time they co-operate in good state of mind, but in case of an accident, they can suddenly become the worst ennemies, to avoid being designated as responsible. Under some circumstances, airport authority and air taffic control authorities could be involved, but it seems it is not the case here.
On top of that come the media, wanting to make the best possible coverage of the event, in terms of attracting audience. Not to report things as close as possible to the truth. So please be careful when reading or seeing reports in the media. Keep the following things in mind:
1) The exact circumstances will be determined by the investigation team, and this process will last for months, if not years.
2) All actors will try to minimize their potential responsibilities, especially in terms what the general audience thinks of this accident. A bad public reputation can kill an airline, even quicker than legal action. Thus airline representatives will do all what they can to protect their image.
3) Media will report opinion of anyone with even the slightiest connection to this business, from the tower controller to the man getting the trolleys back from the parking lot to the terminal.
4) Some insiders will say things like "With that weather / in those conditions, I would have ... / They should have done this or that". Two remarks regarding this kind of comments. First, the persons talking this way were not present (only the crew was), so they don't know the conditions to the detail. Secondly, we are always smarter after the incident, aren't we ?
So once again, our thoughts at this stage must go to the victims and their families. Let the investigation team do its jobs. I will certainly re-post about this incident when the report will be published. Anything in between would be speculation only.
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Inside view of air travel industry, with a touch of fun
