The CEO of Air India has been accused of plagiarising the statement he read hours after a plane operated by the airline crashed in Ahmedabad with 242 people onboard. Campbell Wilson’s reaction to the tragedy, which killed all but one passenger and at least 29 on the ground, was criticised as unsympathetic and detached by social media commentators – but others had more serious concerns. Some, including communications consultant Karthik Srinivasan, drew comparisons between Mr Wilson’s speech and the one given by American Airlines CEO Robert Isom in the wake of another deadly plane crash in Washington earlier this year.
Mr Srinivasan posted transcripts of the two statements on X, demonstrating distinct similarities and in some cases a complete reproduction of the earlier passage. Mr Isom’s speech on January 30 began, “I want to brief you on a serious incident”, as did Mr Wilson’s, with the next paragraph of both statements continuing: “First and most importantly, I would like to express our deep sorrow about this event.”
Mr Wilson’s speech then echoed Mr Isom’s word-for-word as he acknowledged: “I know that there are many questions, and at this stage, I will not be able to answer all of them. But I do want to share the information we have at this time.”
The transcripts then diverged as each CEO delved into the details of the respective incidents, before rejoining as the chief executives pledged to “actively work” with authorities on “all emergency response efforts”.
“Anything we can do now, we are doing,” both statements continued. “We know that many people are concerned for the welfare of their loved ones. We have set up a special helpline that friends and family can reach us at.
“We understand that people are eager for information, and please know that we will continue to share accurate and timely information as soon as we can. But anything we report must be accurate. We owe that to everyone involved.
“[Our teams are] working around the clock to support passengers, crew and their families however we can.”
“People found it insensitive because it just doesn’t make sense based on common sense to plagiarise a speech when you’re supposed to showcase empathy,” Mr Srinivasan told the New York Times.
Communications expert John Bailey suggested that Air India may have taken recommendations to rely on past examples of disaster response “too literally”.
“What I saw was a guy who was absolutely very empathetic and struggling with his emotions, because that’s the reality,” Mr Bailey added.
While Air India has not directly addressed the plagiarism claims, a spokesperson said the company had “studied many airlines’ immediate post-accident statements to identify the clearest, most concise and effective way to convey time-sensitive, critical information at a moment of immense human trauma”.
The backlash could heighten scrutiny of the airline as investigators continue to ascertain what caused the Boeing 787 Dreamliner to crash seconds after taking off from Ahmedabad on June 12.
India’s aviation watchdog also ordered three executives to be removed from crew scheduling roles this week after discovering “systemic failures” on two occasions unrelated to the crash, which was among the deadliest in recent history.