Plagiarism Over Tragedy Message? Air India CEO Faces Online Backlash
New Delhi:
Days after the devastating Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad that killed 241 people, the airline is facing another criticism - this time over the remarks made by its CEO, Campbell Wilson. Social media users have claimed that Mr Wilson's message on the deadly plane crash was "plagiarised" from American Airlines CEO Robert Isom's speech.
Users also drew similarities between the two speeches by highlighting sentences such as: "I want to brief you on a serious accident", "This is a difficult day for all of us", "I know there ae many questions and at this early stage, I'll not be able to answer all of them, but I do want to share information I have at this time".
Some other sentences included, "emergency response efforts, and "We are actively working with".
My perspective on the plagiarized message used by Air India CEO & MD Campbell Wilson in the aftermath of the deadly, tragic plane crash of Air India Boeing 787 in Ahmedabad https://t.co/sUhNWTwfGF #publicrelations #corporatecommunications pic.twitter.com/SRMzuD7YsM
— Karthik 🇮🇳 (@beastoftraal) June 16, 2025
The American Airlines CEO had spoken in response to a January 30 mid-air collision near Washington DC where a commercial jet collided with a military helicopter, killing 67 people.
Industrialist Harsh Goenka also reacted to the comparison of the speech, calling it a "good perspective".
Good perspective
— Harsh Goenka (@hvgoenka) June 16, 2025
Some users questioned whether the two CEOs used the same consultants or Artificial Intelligence (AI). While some wondered whether it was plagiarism or plain SOPs.
"The SOPs in such situations is common, and if standard procedures are common, using similar/same verbatim to express thoughts is common too. There could and must be multiple things to criticise AirIndia but this, in my opinion ,is far fetched," a X user said.
Air India issued Mr Wilson's video message on the plane crash two days after the tragedy.
"First and most importantly, I would like to express our deep sorrow about this event. This is a difficult day for all of us here in India. And it's now focused entirely on the needs of our passengers, crew members, their families, and loved ones. The injured passengers have been taken by local authorities to the nearest hospitals. We are actively working with the authorities on all emergency response efforts," he said.
The Air India plane flying to London from Ahmedabad's Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Airport crashed within 32 seconds of take-off, and 241 people on board, including 10 cabin crew members and two pilots, were charred to death. Former Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani is one of the victims of the horrific crash.
Officials said that the DNA testing of 132 bodies has been done so far, with 97 of them being handed over to their families.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
30 minutes ago
- Time of India
Boeing 787 Dreamliner: Safe, Smart, but Not Infallible
The Boeing 787 Dreamliner , in service since 2011, is renowned for its cutting-edge safety systems and fuel efficiency. Despite its reputation, the aircraft has faced notable setbacks, including a global grounding in 2013 due to battery-related incidents .
Time of India
34 minutes ago
- Time of India
Boeing executive says don't expect any more big assets sales at this time
Boeing is not planning any more big asset sales at this time, Chris Raymond , the head of its global services business, said at the Paris Airshow on Tuesday. Battling to recover from a series of crises, CEO Kelly Ortberg has been selling non-core assets to reduce Boeing's debt. In April, the U.S. planemaker struck a deal in April to sell parts of its Digital Aviation Solutions business, including navigation unit Jeppesen, to private equity firm Thoma Bravo for $10.55 billion.
Time of India
40 minutes ago
- Time of India
DGCA asks Air India for training data of pilots, dispatcher of crashed plane
Live Events (You can now subscribe to our (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel India's aviation safety watchdog has asked Air India for the training records of the pilots and dispatcher for the plane that crashed last week as part of its investigation into the incident that killed at least 271 people, government memos Directorate General of Civil Aviation also asked all flying schools to conduct training compliance checks, according to the confidential memos, seen by DGCA said the requests were part of a "regulatory" review of the accident, and also sought details of action taken following the watchdog's audits of Air India in the last few months. It asked for the details to be provided by was not clear whether Air India had complied with the directive. The airline and the DGCA did not respond to Reuters' requests for Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner bound for London with 242 people on board began losing height seconds after take-off in Ahmedabad on Thursday before crashing into nearby buildings. Everyone on board was killed, bar a single passenger, along with about 30 on the Sabharwal, who the Indian government has said had 8,200 flying hours of experience and was also an Air India instructor, was the commanding pilot of flight AI171. His co-pilot was Clive Kunder who had 1,100 hours of experience. Sabharwal's funeral took place in Mumbai on watchdog requested for training details and supporting documents for the pilots, as well as for the flight dispatcher. The memo did not elaborate on the type of documents required, but accident investigations commonly look at a crew's training and qualifications, flight history, medical records and any actions previously taken against memo did not raise any concerns with Air India's operations and some of the requests are standard in the aftermath of a major are DGCA-certified ground-based airline employees whose role includes flight planning, assessing weather and airspace conditions, and coordination with the the request for pilot training data was sent by the DGCA, the accident investigation is being led by another wing of the aviation ministry, the Aircraft Accident Investigation India's Chairman N. Chandrasekaran told staff on Monday the incident should be a catalyst to build a safer DGCA, through a separate memo dated June 16, also asked flying schools across the country to "strictly follow additional safety and operational measures."The regulator said instructors must check for compliance with procedures concerning training, maintenance and licensing, and coordinate flight plans with nearby airports in advance to ensure any emergencies are dealt with swiftly."Compliance will be assessed during audits/surveillance," said the memo by the Directorate of Flying Training, reviewed by Pope, the head of Boeing Commercial Airplanes, visited Air India's headquarters near New Delhi and met the airline's chairman to discuss the crash, Reuters reported on crash poses a new challenge for Air India, which the Tata Group bought in 2022 and has been trying to revamp, and Boeing, which is trying to rebuild public trust following a series of safety and production a June 13 memo headed "updating airport emergency plan", seen by Reuters, government-managed airports have also been asked to conduct a full-scale training exercise - typically an emergency drill - on June 30.
