Lessons Learned Aviation Disaster Experiences Christa Hinckley J

Lessons Learned Aviation Disaster Experiences Curt Lewis, P. E. , CSP, FRAe. S, FISAI

“Crisis” Latin from Greek “Krisis” decision “Krino” to decide

“Nothing is more difficult and therefore more precious than the ability to decide” Napoleon

“Almost Every Crisis Contains Within Itself the Seeds of Success as well as the

1 Six Stages of Crisis Management �Stage �Stage 1: 2: 3: 4: 5: 6:

Re-establish confidence in your company, or cause it severe harm—up to and including destroying

Each business should constantly ◦ Analyze what could go wrong which would threaten the

Potential disasters for airlines: ◦ Severe weather (sandstorm, earthquake, flood, tornado, hail) ◦ Fatal

� Once the list is complete, the company should rank the events Ø Those

�The plan should establish: Ø A centralized Crisis Command Center § Alternative command centers

�The plan should also Ø Designate in advance a company spokesperson Ø Outline procedures

� In preparing your plan Ø Throw out, or aggressively test, all preconceived assumptions

�Once your plan is prepared, you must then Ø Investigate Ø Train Ø Test

Source: Aeronautica Civil of the Republic of Colombia, Aircraft Accident Report, Controlled Flight Into

The following photographs reproduced courtesy of Curt Lewis, P. E. , CSP, FRAe. S,

� Communication � Candid is vitally important at this stage communication to Ø The

�Triage—stop �Tough the hemorrhaging decisions have to be made fast Ø Next of kin

Media Communication “First state clearly that you do not know all the facts. Then

�You must develop a plan to resolve the crisis and implement it Ø Again,

�Debriefs are critical Ø Review success and failures Ø Fix Problems ◦ Don’t ignore

“If you can keep your head when all about are losing theirs, it’s just

Dentons US LLP 2000 Mc. Kinney Avenue Suite 1900 Dallas, TX 75201 -1858 United

Slides: 48

Download presentation

Lessons Learned Aviation Disaster Experiences Christa Hinckley, J. D. Counsel Dentons US LLP, Dallas christa. hinckley@dentons. com T +1 214 259 0922 dentons. com © 2013 Dentons is an international legal practice providing client services worldwide through its member firms and affiliates. This publication is not designed to provide legal or other advice and you should not take, or refrain from taking, action based on its content. Please see dentons. com for Legal Notices.

Lessons Learned Aviation Disaster Experiences Curt Lewis, P. E. , CSP, FRAe. S, FISAI Curt Lewis & Associates, LLC curt@curt-lewis. com www. fsinfo. org PH: 817 -303 -9096 Cell: 817 -845 -3983 Fax: 682 -292 -0835 Twitter: curtllewis 01 Skype: curt. lewis 2

“Crisis” Latin from Greek “Krisis” decision “Krino” to decide

“Nothing is more difficult and therefore more precious than the ability to decide” Napoleon Bonaparte

“Almost Every Crisis Contains Within Itself the Seeds of Success as well as the Roots of Failure” Norman Augustine, “Managing the Crisis You Tried to Prevent” Harvard Business Review, Nov. -Dec. 1995 at p. 148

1 Six Stages of Crisis Management �Stage �Stage 1: 2: 3: 4: 5: 6: Avoiding the Crisis Preparing to Manage the Crisis Recognizing the Crisis Containing the Crisis Resolving the Crisis Profiting from the Crisis 1. From Augustine, Norman "Managing the Crisis You Tried to Prevent" Harvard Business Review, Nov-Dec 1995. Pages 146 -158 (hereafter "Augustine")

Re-establish confidence in your company, or cause it severe harm—up to and including destroying the company completely.

Stage 1 Avoiding the Crisis

Each business should constantly ◦ Analyze what could go wrong which would threaten the viability of the company ◦ Then assess the probability of the event ◦ Then assess its potential severity

Potential disasters for airlines: ◦ Severe weather (sandstorm, earthquake, flood, tornado, hail) ◦ Fatal Accident ◦ Massive Computer/Systems failure ◦ Disastrous Fire ◦ Food Poisoning: E-Coli ◦ Contagious Disease (SARS) ◦ Employee Violence ◦ Labor Unrest ◦ Terrorist Attack ◦ Allegations of Impropriety Ø Ø Ø Pencil Whipping Accounting Safety Related Discrimination Sexual Misconduct

� Once the list is complete, the company should rank the events Ø Those of high severity and high probability -- at the top of the list � Then the company should develop a plan for: Ø Preventing these events Ø Minimizing the likelihood of their occurrence and Ø Responding to them

Stage 2 Preparing to Manage the Crisis

�The plan should establish: Ø A centralized Crisis Command Center § Alternative command centers should also be identified if the primary one is not available Ø A clear Chain of Command Ø A Crisis Response Team Ø The specific tasks and functions to be performed by the team members Ø A clear communication protocol

�The plan should also Ø Designate in advance a company spokesperson Ø Outline procedures for creating an on site command center Ø Identify an automated means of collecting, managing and distributing information Ø Determine how easily used and redundant communication equipment will be provided to a significant number of people within a short time

� In preparing your plan Ø Throw out, or aggressively test, all preconceived assumptions because they won’t apply or won’t work Ø Try to imagine your worst possible disaster – and how you can prepare for it Ø Try to understand the limitations of the environment you may be operating in Ø Understand that your best laid plans may be worthless which is why you need back up/contingency plans Ø Finally, the senior people selected to respond must be able to connect the dots and make decisions

�Once your plan is prepared, you must then Ø Investigate Ø Train Ø Test Ø Drill �A plan only on paper is worthless

Stage 3 Recognizing the Crisis

Stage 4 Containing the Crisis

Source: Colombian Accident Report

Source: Aeronautica Civil of the Republic of Colombia, Aircraft Accident Report, Controlled Flight Into Terrain, American Airlines Flight 965 Boeing 757 -223 N 6 JIAA, Near Cali, Colombia, December 20, 1995 (hereafter the " Colombian Accident Report")

Source: Colombian Accident Report

The following photographs reproduced courtesy of Curt Lewis, P. E. , CSP, FRAe. S, FISAI

� Communication � Candid is vitally important at this stage communication to Ø The public, Ø Your business partners, Ø Your colleagues Ø Employees will go far in restoring the public’s confidence in your company

�Triage—stop �Tough the hemorrhaging decisions have to be made fast Ø Next of kin communication Ø Hepatitis vaccine Ø Ground transportation Ø Hotel accommodations Ø Hospital supplies �Time and speed is of essence

Media Communication “First state clearly that you do not know all the facts. Then promptly state the facts you do know. One’s objective should be to get it right, get it quick, get it out and get it over. You see, your problem won’t improve with age” Warren Buffett Reproduced in Augustine at page 155.

Stage 5 Resolving the Crisis

�You must develop a plan to resolve the crisis and implement it Ø Again, time and speed is of essence Ø Luck is an element

Stage 6 Profiting from the Crisis

�Debriefs are critical Ø Review success and failures Ø Fix Problems ◦ Don’t ignore employees that also might be traumatized

“If you can keep your head when all about are losing theirs, it’s just possible you haven’t grasped the situation” Humorist Jean Kerr Reproduced in Augustine at page 152.

Dentons US LLP 2000 Mc. Kinney Avenue Suite 1900 Dallas, TX 75201 -1858 United States of America © 2013 Dentons is an international legal practice providing client services worldwide through its member firms and affiliates. This publication is not designed to provide legal or other advice and you should not take, or refrain from taking, action based on its content. Please see dentons. com for Legal Notices.