Headlines today are rightfully calling the crew of US Airways flight 1549 “heroes.” Even President Bush said he was inspired by the skill and heroism of the flight crew and the rescue teams. That the pilots were able to ditch the A320 into the Hudson River, fuselage and wings intact and without a fire, is miraculous.
But after the cameras and the reporters go away, what happens to the survivors or the families of the victims and who takes care of them?
During almost two decades in the airline industry, I had the job of providing post-accident humanitarian assistance to survivors and victims’ families. I won’t say which airline I worked for, but I will say that I performed this role five times. Here’s what happened at my former employer.
Immediately after an accident, the airline dispatches a team of specially-trained employees to the accident site, to the city where the flight originated and to its destination city. Each of those employees is assigned to a family to provide support in the hours and days immediately after the crash, and to be a communication link with the company. As I’ve written before, in their haste to report something — anything — the media are often inaccurate, and the airline wants to make sure it’s providing the family with correct information and responding to immediate needs.
Meanwhile, in a centralized location, the airline begins setting up another team of specially-trained employees to handle longer-term needs for the survivors and victims’ families. This was my role. As the immediate, on-site activities begin to wind down, communication is handed off to this centralized team.
Full briefings are held between the on-site representative and the next employee who will be helping via telephone to minimize the need for the family member or survivor to repeat his or her preferences or needs, telephone numbers, etc. Family tree information is conveyed so the new family liaison will know who Sally Jones is when she calls. Pitfalls are discussed (you’d be amazed how many people have mistresses or kept men). Religious preferences are noted.
The role of the family liaison is to facilitate essentially every accident-related need for the survivor or family. Out of town guests may be flying in for a funeral or to visit the survivor in the hospital and will need flights arranged. Often, they do not want to travel on the airline that just crashed, so coordination is needed with another carrier. Cars (rental or chauffeured, depending on family preference) may be needed. Caskets may need to be ordered. Flowers may need to be procured. Hotel accommodations might need to be arranged. Food may be needed for a wake or in a hospitality suite at a hotel if a large family is gathering. Some people arrive without proper clothing and have to go shopping for a suit or a dress to wear to the funeral. Some want to shop at Saks; others are content at Wal-Mart. Within reason, the airline pays for all of these things.
There are some more serious tasks to complete, too. After personal effects are recovered and identified, they need to be returned to the survivor or the family (although nowadays, that’s often done by an outside company). They need to be warned that the items might smell of fire, smoke or aviation fuel. In one case, a particular crash was so severe that no bodies were identifiable and it was necessary to communicate the need to collect dental records and DNA samples from hair, toothbrushes, dirty clothing or a dirty drinking glass. Once bodies were identified, families had to be told their loved ones had been identified through “forensic means.” That meant all they would get to place in a casket was a few teeth or a bone.
Every single, solitary conversation and action is painstakingly documented, no matter how insignificant.
Eventually, many families obtain legal representation. When this happens, sadly, no matter how good the relationship is between the airline liaison and the family, the handling gets turned over to the company lawyers and the airline’s insurance company. Oftentimes, the family doesn’t want to let go of the relationship with the liaison, but when attorneys become involved, there’s no way that can continue.
After spending weeks and in some cases months interacting with families on such a personal and intense level, it can often be difficult to end the relationship. In one instance, I assisted an elderly couple that had lost their only son, daughter-in-law and three grandchildren in an accident. They continued to communicate with me, invited me to play golf, have dinner, and sent me letters and cards. As cold as it felt, I had to draw the line between a professional and a personal relationship.
There’s no doubt that a lot of this work is done to minimize the friction between the airline and the victim or the family after such a serious incident. Nevertheless, many people are likely unaware of just how compassionately my particular former employer stepped up to the plate when tragedy struck.
Today’s accident in New York City dredged up a host of emotions for me, including gratitude that there were no fatalities. My heart goes out to the passengers, their families, the crew — and the hundreds of employees at US Airways who are no doubt toiling at this moment to make the situation as bearable as possible for all involved.
