In such a crisis situation, the commercial, technical, political and insurance issues are extremely onerous and necessarily impact the debate on the causes of the disaster. Theories about probable causes were aired in the public arena and speculation continued throughout the Summer. Suspicions that quickly fell on malfunctioning airspeed sensors, the Pitot tubes, allowed Air France to further benefit from independent experts speaking in the media as Airbus, and thus EADS, were now included in the chain of responsibility. Again, this was not a decision made by Air France but the company was able to benefit from such speculation. It also allowed the company to show its commitment to finding a solution to the problem when it announced it was replacing airspeed sensors on all similar aircraft. This action confirmed the theory, in the eyes of the public, that Airbus was partially responsible for the disaster. In this way, given that Airbus and EADS are highly strategic corporations in France (giants in thier respective sectors and among the largest private sector employers), pressure on Airfrance dropped again.
The pressure that continued to be exerted came from the families of victims. Less than one week after the catastrophe, a class action was set in motion with the support of an Anglo-American law firm. The decision to file a class action was motivated above all by flaws in the communications strategy of Air France, a strategy that had been deemed insensitive by relatives. Crisis Centres must deploy a team dedicated exclusively to the relatives of victims, the 3rd target of a crisis communications strategy. In addition, we have noted that in highly emotional crisis situations, independent experts and analysts can very credibly fill gaps in the media landscape. Finally, the introduction of an external and experienced crisis director into a corporate emergency response room allows companies dealing with crises to avoid the trap of group think. Such an external actor, given his position outside company hierarchy, helps keep a fresh perspective on the situation, acts as an arbiter on any issues that may been overlooked and combats any complacency in the crisis management process.
