ABSTRACT
This chapter examines how two airline accidents and one train crash were handled from a communication standpoint. Such events immediately become headline news, making it hard for communications specialists and managers to be on top of the situation. When a plane from Asiana Airlines crashed in San Francisco, crisis communication was perceived to be slow and impersonal, while Lufthansa handled the crash of a Germanwings plane much better. Crisis management of the rail disaster in Lac-Mégantic in Canada was handled poorly, with a CEO arriving late at the scene and with what seemed like no planned messages or crisis communication training.
