Air India CEO s remarks after plane crash draw scrutiny

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, with 242 people aboard.

His remarks immediately drew criticism. Social media users said he appeared cold and lacking in empathy.

Soon after that, another critique emerged: Much of Mr Wilson’s speech was identical to one given five months earlier by Mr Robert Isom, CEO 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 in 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 didn’t 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 takeoff,