I took a flight out of Bengaluru to Kochi on the morning of June 12. All was well and happy. But by the time I reached my hotel, I heard the heartbreaking news that AI 171, a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, had crashed while taking off on a routine flight from Ahmedabad to London’s Gatwick airport. Even as the news broke, social media was full of visuals of dark smoke burning litres of aviation fuel on the ground as the flight had crashed just 38 seconds after a full tank take-off. It looked as if no one could be alive.
The details emerged slowly. The flight, that had 242 people, faced 241 fatalities, with just one miraculous escape of a passenger from seat 11A. Worse news was to come. The plane’s crash into the B J Medical College premises killed another 38 hapless people on the ground. This remains a disaster hard to explain. Why did it happen at all?
The whole nation is in shock. So am I. Many other nations, whose nationals perished, are in shock too. Disasters of this kind rattle all in more ways than one. Even as the news kept coming out, there were prayers on every lip, hoping for more survivors and fewer fatalities. But that was not to be.
As I write this piece, it is only three days since the accident and the wound is still raw. If that is our situation, just imagine the plight of the near and dear ones of those who perished. Whole sets of lives have changed forever. Whole sets of nations and families have been scarred, not by an act of war, but by an accident. This first-ever hull loss of a Boeing Dreamliner is more than the loss of an aircraft and lives. It raises questions on many aspects of life itself.
For a start, why did all of us get so rattled by this accident? Many reasons maybe. An incident of this kind makes us feel the pain of others distant from us in many ways, and at the same time very close to who we are as humans. The key question, “What if it was me?” lurks around ominously as well. We as human-beings will forever empathise with the distress of another, all the time living vicariously through the distress. We will very quickly visit the fact in our minds that we are but mere mortals. An accident of this kind could happen to us. We get off our “I will never ever die” pedestal, and face reality. What the Covid pandemic did to us as a society, this air crash did to all of us as well just a few days ago. At least momentarily. Add to it the thought that we are suddenly confronted by the fact that we cannot plan for everything. We spend our lives at work and home, planning for the worst and the best. Incidents such as this tell us very clearly that you can plan your life, but you can’t plan your death.
In many ways, the fall of AI 171 touched each one of us in a rather selfish manner of speaking as well. In our minds we still do want to plan for success, not doom. We will therefore keep assessing risk. In this case it is the risk of flying. This incident of the loss of plane and loss of precious lives might make some of us reduce the number of flights we take. In the case of some, if here is a choice between a bus and a train and an airplane, you just might decide on modes of travel rooted to the ground rather than ones that need a take-off and a landing. This is irrational for sure. Not fact and numbers based. But the fear of flying is back in our lives. A take-off will never be taken for granted. At least for a while.
In the case of some, the airline in question will be avoided for a while. In some cases, even if you are not the one flying, you will advise your near and dear ones not to fly the airline if there is choice put in front of you. In some more due-diligence oriented minds, the aircraft maker in question will be avoided (if there is a viable choice to make). In the case of some, due diligence will be done on the age of the aircraft, its history of flying, its accident record and more. Paranoia is back. At least for a while—though I suspect, a very short while.
We are all suddenly feeling vulnerable. This incident has shaken us. This incident has stirred us. Simply and bluntly put, this incident has really scared us, whether we are willing to admit it or not. In many ways, it has made all of us accept the fact that not everything is in our control. There is more to life than meets the eye. The fall of AI 171 has really woken up our sensitivities and our sensibilities. It has made us feel more human than we ever otherwise do maybe. It has made us get off the pedestal of pompous life, if at all for a brief set of days.
We are all suddenly feeling vulnerable. This incident has shaken us. This incident has stirred us. Simply and bluntly put, this incident has really scared us, whether we are willing to admit it or not. In many ways, it has made all of us accept the fact that not everything is in our control. There is more to life than meets the eye. The fall of AI 171 has really woken up our sensitivities and our sensibilities. It has made us feel more human than we ever otherwise do maybe. It has made us get off the pedestal of pompous life, if at all for a brief set of days.
Our collective psyche has been hurt. Many people have asked me to comment on the future of brand Air India, as well as the future image of brand Boeing at large. My one answer to all has been a simple one: This is not a moment to talk of what will or will not happen to these brands. The Tata group that owns Air India is possibly India’s most respected and responsible business group with a heritage of responsible business, social and ethical behaviour. They will do what they are meant to do, without any reminders or cajolement. There are far more important issues at hand for now. This is a sensitive moment. Let’s respect it and put a gag order on ourselves for a month and let our monkey minds settle. Once through, let’s ask Air India the answers it needs to give us all.
This is not the time to ask for the blood and sweat of any of those involved. This is a moment to just shed tears. A moment to take care of our collective tears as well. A moment to console and condole each one of us. Om shanti.
Harish Bijoor is a brand guru & founder of Harish Bijoor Consults Inc
(Views are personal)
(harishbijoor@hotmail.com)