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The PR Response to the Miracle on the Hudson: US Airways Flight 1549

By: Marijean Jaggers | 01/16/2009

The news about the US Airways flight 1549 crash has provided a lot of thought-provoking material for crisis communications professionals. It's a good, timely opportunity to remind clients of the importance of being prepared for an emergency and of having an updated, comprehensive crisis communications plan.

Time Magazine has gone as far to help consumers learn that they can survive a plane crash and how they can prepare themselves to do so.

As crisis communications specialists, we're analyzing the response by US Airways and others in regards to crisis communication and preparation. You may have seen and heard the statement delivered by CEO Doug Parker. Members of our team thought that the statement lacked the compassion we counsel our clients to lead with in this type of situation. True, no one died in this situation, but it was still traumatic, still an incident that caused people great distress.

Fellow crisis communication professional Tripp Frohlichstein agrees with us in an opinion piece written for Ragan Communications.  "Never once did he (Parker) express any relief that all the passengers lived through the ordeal. That should have been his very first order of business," said Frohlichstein

In contrast, as Frohlichstein points out in addendum, New York Governor David Paterson got the tone and the content right in his statement. Paterson, who will always be credited for the phrase, "miracle on the Hudson," started out with that media-friendly nugget and went on to acknowledge what could have been a very tragic occurence and to praise the efforts of the responders:
"I think for all the times that we have had to appear at these press conferences in rather dismal circumstances, today, we realize how blessed this city is, and how blessed all of us are, particularly the survivors and their families. In simplicity, this is really a potential tragedy that may become one of the most spectacular days in the history of New York City's agencies, their coordination and the greatness of the people that worked to help the passengers, who will return home to their families," said Paterson.

It could be argued that Parker, as the CEO of the airlines, the responsible party in this incident, needed to stick to a limited statement for legal reasons and that Paterson, under no such scrutiny had the luxury to be more effusive and compassionate. I disagree. There's always time for compassion and the corporation that doesn't take the time to express it may find themselves criticized more heartily, even in the most benign situations.

I was surprised at how long it took (about an hour) for media to post an 800 number for family members to use and wondered about the three hours before Doug Parker and US Airways released their initial statement to which Standing Partnership's Mistie Thompson said, "The urge is to get info out as quickly as possible, but especially in situations like a crash, having only confirmed information come from the airline/airport, etc. is vital. Setting up a crisis team and regularly practicing the crisis plan will only help the team jump immediately into action and get fast, accurate and compassionate information out to everyone."

Interestingly, I first learned of the crash via Twitter, specifically @BreakingNewsOn - a full five minutes before the story broke on CNN or on other Web sites. That underscores the importance of Twitter in crisis communications strategy. We simply can't allow ourselves to underestimate the speed and reach of social media in the event of a crisis and this one -- near the bank of the Hudson River -- was in full view of millions via cell phones, a telescope/camera combination, and the internet within minutes.
 We're thrilled the news has such a happy ending story; it also serves as a reminder that preparing for a crisis is critically important.

What have you thought about the media coverage, the PR handling of the US Airways "miracle on the Hudson" and the use of non-traditional media and citizen journalists to piece together the story?

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