The Taste by Vir Sanghvi: What the Air India crash teaches us about empathy and responsibility
The Air India crash has prompted premature judgments and speculation about its causes, which should be avoided until investigations conclude.
I have held off writing about the Air India crash for several reasons. Partly it was that I was saddened, shocked and so depressed by the tragedy that it was hard to string two sentences together let alone write a coherent article.
And partly it was because I was so appalled by the rush to judgment and the number of publicity hounds who knew nothing but were invited to appear on media and spout their ignorant nonsense.
But now that the initial shock is fading, here is my two cents worth.
1) It is totally irresponsible to claim to know what caused the crash. The truth is that nobody knows or can know until the investigation is underway. It is not my case that we need to wait several months before discussing the possible causes. Investigators will have a working hypothesis relatively soon. But it is crazy to blame it on the pilots who are not around to defend themselves.
To say it’s because pilots are overworked amounts to the same thing: It’s an excuse for pilot error which has not been established in this case. It is also wrong to speculate about sabotage without any evidence. And while Boeing has come under a cloud in recent years, the Dreamliners have flown safely for a decade with no serious crashes. So, there is no need for knee-jerk responses about how unsafe all Dreamliners are and how they must be grounded.
(Also read: The Taste by Vir Sanghvi: Is the era of the anonymous restaurant critic over? )
2) I am and have always been an Air India loyalist but I am not blind to the airline’s many faults. Nevertheless, I think it is worse than foolish for the media to focus on passenger videos that show how the in-flight video system was not working or how the aircraft had not been cleaned. Of course, these are problems that affect the passenger experience but they have nothing to do with safety or with the causes of the crash.
3) The worst part of some of the responses to the crash is the lack of respect they demonstrate for the hardworking people of Air India. Yes, passengers lost their lives but so did crew. The pilots who are being blamed were experienced professionals who perished with the aircraft leaving their families bereft and devastated. So, did so many young cabin crew members who had their lives ahead of them.
There are hundreds of Air India employees who have not had the time or opportunity to properly mourn their colleagues because they have got back into planes so that you and I can travel safely. Let’s give them the respect they deserve.
4) Many people have said that they will think twice before flying Air India again. They have a perfect right to do that though, speaking for myself, I have never let a single (as yet unexplained) crash deter me from flying by any airline that I know well. I flew Air India soon after the Kanishka crash in 1985 and continued to fly Indian Airlines after the Bangalore crash in 1990. I have two international flights booked on Air India this week and will not cancel them though other airlines also operate on those routes. I continue to have faith in the people of Air India. (And AI-SATS which rarely gets the recognition it deserves.)
5) However, a slightly paradoxical bit of advice: Until the consequences of the crash settle down a little, it may be worth trying to avoid taking international flights on Air India for at least a week or two. There are strict DGCA checks and engineering is taking much more time than normal to certify aircraft. This means that there will be delays and cancellations.
6) This has nothing to do with how safe the planes are; in fact, the opposite is true because of enhanced checks. And it is not the fault of Air India staff who have to find ways of rerouting passengers and have to cope with anger and frustration from travellers who will miss connections because of delays or are stranded because there are no alternative flights once their Air India flights have been cancelled. The airline’s corporate masters will tell you things are fine, but it is the people on the ground who have to cope with the chaos.
7) If there are two things we have learned about the privatised Air India is that the Tatas are probably the best people to run our flagship carrier. The response of the chairman in the aftermath of the crash demonstrated the empathy, decency and sincerity that the Tatas are known for. But there is also second lesson: The Tatas have erred in taking a hands-off attitude and leaving the running of the airline to people who do not make contingency plans for when things go wrong (just look at the passenger complaints on social media), and probably don’t know how to run a full-service airline.
8) This is not the time to talk about changing things. But once Air India emerges from this crisis it may be time for Bombay House to take a long hard look at Air India and to figure out why it has done so much damage to the Tata name. This wasn’t what Ratan Tata thought would happen when he decided that Air India should come home.
