About a year ago almost to the day, I wrote this reply to a thread in the Terms & endearment forum on
this subject.
So where is the help?
You go to work everyday and then one day something serious happens. Suddenly the skills, reactions and responses that you trained and briefed all those years for, are compressed into a few seconds, where what you do will have an impact that will affect hundreds of people for years afterwards.
Through no fault of your own, a large transport aircraft suffers a total power failure on the edge of a highly populated city at a late stage of its landing approach. The actions of the crew throughout and immediately afterwards result in everybody surviving and the only obvious significant damage being that to an insured lump of metal.
Despite a very positive outcome that results from the crews control, it is ironic in that it will probably be the last time they have very much control of anything that happens subsequently. With any serious incident or accident, there is an enormous level of trauma and stress that will affect all of the participants. Initially this is masked by the adrenalin and plethora of events taking place around you. The adrenalin will wear off over a few days, but the stress usually won't. The results for the individual can (and will) run an entire spectrum of emotions and physical consequences. Recovery from this condition takes time, and that period of time varies enormously from person to person. It is also often a great deal longer than the individual themselves thinks.
Despite a fantastic outcome, this accident was obviously a very high profile one. As soon as it happened, a whole host of machines went into action. The worlds press decended. The airlines management and public relations departments went into overdrive. The various operational and regulatory authorities demanded information. The Sky news/ CNN/ ITN/ BBC viewing public either had their own "expert" opinion on what happened, or wanted to have someone else provide one for them in a a 30 minute rolling news clip. Like the audience in a roman gladiatorial contest, they wanted to give their thumbs up or down as they were guided to see fit. They wanted labels, hero's and villains.
There can't have been many professional airline crewmembers who didn't cringe at the spectacle of this clearly traumatised crew being paraded before the worlds press within 24 hours. The smiles didn't hide a great deal. No doubt the action was by consent and seemed a good idea in the overall context of corporate support and good P.R. However it didn't appear to be putting the interests of the crewmembers welfare paramount?
With the media circus in full swing, as it became obvious that answers were (as often is the case) going to outlive the attention span of a soundbite audience, so others sought their 3 minutes of fame with their own tittle tattle, previously innocuous photographs, and supposed human interest stories. The TV cameras were quickly off covering something fresher, but the newspapers are able to extract a longer story lifespan by knocking down the heros they or a competitor created. Nevertheless, good, bad, hero, villain it all serves to fill the space that has to be sold for a profit.
In the meantime what happens to the individuals involved? How do they cope with the stress left behind after the interest has waned? How do their families cope? What are the long term repercussions? How have their own lives been changed? What help is still being afforded to them?
There must be a very real desire to make it all just go away and reset the world to a previous point in time, that is simply not going to happen. There must be a desire to eventually dismiss help, and simply get things back to a perception of normality. Even "professional celebrities" shun the stress that comes from the attention. Those that never courted it, must find it a greater version of hell. The unforseen consequences start to become apparant.
So my question is, where is the help for these people, but in this context, the crew involved in this accident? Irrespective of the fact that someone sought voluntary redundancy, I believe (and perhaps they do to) the previous employer has a moral obligation to provide whatever support and assistance it realistically and conceivably can. What of the pilots union (if one was involved)? What influence and pressure can their offices bring to help and support these individuals in continuing their careers and rebuilding their lives?
These are special cases that deserve special treatment. There will have been a great deal of stress and trauma to be overcome, and it is entirely justified that those with a vested interest and the ability to do so, go out of their way to provide whatever assitance they can.
I am very pleased that after a period of time, all parties have shown a high degree of common sense, maturity and compassion. For those people whinging about seniority lists etc. These were very unusual circumstances with profoundly extenuating aspects. I am sure mistakes were made on all sides, and it is entirely right and proper that the situation is restored as closely as possible to that that existed at the time of the incident, for all parties. Well done to everybody concerned and involved. Hopefully this family can now resume their lives in a manner that best suits themselves.