Pilots (and airline) Packing Heat

US Airways is in the middle of a huge PR crisis because of an incident involving a pilot with a gun on board Flight 1536 this last Saturday. The pilot had the concealed handgun in the cockpit as part of a new program that trains pilots to carry handguns on board flights. The Federal Flight Deck Officer Program (FFDO) has been implemented by the Transportation Security Administration. A TSA spokesperson made a statement on Sunday assuring the safety of the aircraft and its passengers. The TSA is not questioning the pilot's ability to carry the gun because he was last re qualified for FFDO program in November.  

This story has been printed in nearly all major news publications including this link from CNN. Unfortunately for US Airways, this means that many of their publics heard about the incident via the media. Passengers, potential customers, US Airways employees, and many other publics were more than likely unaware of the FFDO program before this incident. This is potentially dangerous information to those passengers/customers that are sensitive to matters concerning concealed hand guns. Those who are anti-gun may choose not to fly the airline in the future. Also, many pro-gun fliers may feel more safe carrying on their own concealed handguns as part of their constitutional right. If they are trained by an equally safety conscious program as the FFDO, shouldn't they have just as much of a right to "protect" themselves? This slippery slope argument can go on forever. The point is: there are many reasons US Airways could potentially lose customers because of this incident. 

There is no explanation or apology on the US Airways News/Press Release site. The only statement regarding the incident was the one from the spokesperson of the TSA. It was only given when the news station WCNC contacted them the day following the incident. It would be wise for PR purposes to release a statement explaining the program in more detail to the many publics involved. All other airlines who are implementing this plan should consider preparing a statement in the event of a similar situation. Doing so would ensure a smooth landing in a PR crisis.