Air India CEO’s remarks after plane crash draw scrutiny
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Air India chief executive Campbell Wilson's remarks were criticised for being identical to one given months earlier by American Airlines CEO Robert Isom.
PHOTO: ATUL LOKE/NYTIMES
John Yoon
NEW DELHI - Mr Campbell Wilson stood before a camera last week to read a carefully worded statement about the plane operated by Air India, the company he leads, that had crashed hours earlier in Ahmedabad, India
His remarks immediately drew criticism. Social media users said he appeared cold and lacking in empathy.
Soon after that, another critique emerged: Much of his speech was identical to one given five months earlier by Mr Robert Isom, chief executive of American Airlines, after a deadly crash in Washington
The similarities in the two statements are striking. Mr Karthik Srinivasan, a communications consultant in Bengaluru, India, posted transcripts on social media showing that many of Mr Campbell’s words had exact parallels with Mr Isom’s.
“First and most importantly, I’d like to express our deep sorrow about these events,” Mr Isom said in the video published on Jan 29.
On June 12, Mr Wilson began: “First and most importantly, I would like to express our deep sorrow about this event.”
“This is a difficult day for all of us at American Airlines,” Mr Isom continued.
Mr Wilson said: “This is a difficult day for all of us at Air India.”
Mr Isom said: “I know that there are many questions, and at this early stage, I’ll not be able to answer all of them. But I do want to share the information I have at this time.”
Mr Wilson said exactly the same thing, except he did not say “early”, and in one instance he used “we” instead of “I”.
Many who responded to Mr Srinivasan’s post expressed anger and distrust at the airline.
The outcry over the remarks has added to the challenges facing Air India as investigators work to understand what caused its London-bound jet to crash moments after take-off, killing all but one person on board and dozens on the ground.
Public relations specialists said it was common to see similar structures and elements in statements from companies dealing with crises. But they said it was surprising to see one copy another verbatim.
Air India did not address the plagiarism accusations in a statement responding to criticism of Mr Wilson’s remarks. But it acknowledged that it had drawn examples from other crashes. NYTIMES
