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NTSB and Crisis Communication in Aviation

By: Marijean Jaggers | 04/22/2009

Recently, as part of our crisis communication work for Standing's client, the Charlottesville-Albemarle Regional Airport, I attended a crisis communication workshop delivered by none other than the NTSB. The presenters, both public affairs specialists in aviation, provided fascinating case studies and information about the role of an airport in a crisis and how to coordinate effectively with external agencies.

The NTSB defines an aircraft accident as the following:

"An occurence associated with the operation of an aircraft that takes place between the time any person boards the aircraft with the intention of flight and all such persons have disembarked, and in which any person suffers death or serious injury or in which the aircraft receives substantial damage."

We learned, for example, that it is NOT a serious injury if a person on board an aircraft breaks any of these: "fingers, toes or nose." Defining the difference between an accident, which the NTSB and possibly, the FAA would investigate, versus an "incident" (which they would not, necessarily) is a critical step.

Parties involved in an aviation accident, including airport staff and airlines, are prohibited from speaking about investigative findings with the news media or the public. All matters regarding an investigation can only be addressed by the NTSB.

The reason the NTSB encourages communication in the event of an accident is that, in their words, "transparency fosters public confidence in an investigation" and "if we don't talk to the press, someone else will." Telling your OWN story in the event of an accident is the best scenario.

It is, however, extremely important for the NTSB to share guidelines for communication, such as:

The Safety Board will not speculate on the circumstance of an accident and will not respond to theories, hearsay or rumors.

This is an important guideline for any organization to follow in a crisis and bears repeating: Do Not Speculate in a Crisis!

As part of the workshop, we reviewed a video of the press briefing following the tragic accident involving Continental Express flight #3407 near Buffalo, NY. We were asked to consider the following aspects of the way the press briefing was coordinated:

• Location -- the representatives should have an exit strategy -- a clear line to the exit to leave when the briefing has been completed.
  
• Accessibility for national and local media -- where can a press briefing be held? On site? Off site? It's important to secure locations in advance, to accomodate a potentially large crowd.
  
• Tone/atmosphere -- how is the message delivered? In the event of fatalities or injury, is there empathy?
  
• Coordination of message from representatives providing information -- does each group "stay in its lane" providing only the information they're authorized to give, i.e. factual, observable information, or information that could have been given prior to the accident?
  

The video of the initial press briefing is below. What do you notice about it? Did the NTSB representative and the fire chief do a good job? What could have been done better?

Posted in Issues and Crisis Management