By Updesh Kapur/Doha

A plane crash in the heart of England 26 years ago shook Britain’s aviation industry to the core.
The passenger jet, a Boeing 737 operated by British Midland, smashed into a motorway embankment just short of the airstrip at East Midlands International Airport.
The pilot narrowly missed plunging into the nearby Leicestershire village of Kegworth on final approach. With runway lights in full glare a quarter of a mile away, he tragically failed to make it. Forty-seven people onboard lost their lives, 74 were seriously injured in the incident on January 8, 1989.
It was the second major tremor to hit Britain’s airline industry in the space of just 18 days.
On December 21, 1988, Britain suffered its worst terrorist attack when a New York-bound PanAm Boeing 747 was blown out of the sky over the Scottish town of Lockerbie en route from London Heathrow.
All 243 passengers and 16 crew onboard, and a further 11 people on the ground were killed.
In what can only be described as unimaginable, this week’s incident involving an AirAsia aircraft crashing into the Java Sea capped off a terrible year for the aviation industry in Southeast Asia – notably Malaysia.
In March 2014, a Boeing 777 carrying 239 people onboard vanished on a routine flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. It is presumed to have crashed in the Indian Ocean, but to this day there is no trace of the aircraft, those onboard, nor any wreckage.
Four months later, a 777 was shot down at cruising altitude of 33,000ft by a surface-to-air missile on the Ukraine-Russia border. All 298 passengers and crew travelling from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur perished. Both aircraft were operated by Malaysia Airlines.
And this week, the Indonesian arm of Malaysian conglomerate AirAsia suffered a tragedy when an Airbus A320 plummeted into shallow waters an hour after take-off from Surabaya, bound for Singapore. All 162 people are feared dead.
Tragedy will always put those at the heart of a disaster in the public spotlight.
The AirAsia tragedy and the British Midland accident of 26 years ago draw stark similarities in the handling of the crises by their respective leaders.
Sir Michael Bishop, chairman of the now-defunct British Midland and AirAsia’s Group CEO Tony Fernandes can be singled out for taking leadership to new levels.
It is Sir Michael’s handling of the British Midland incident that is used in textbook case studies and in crisis communication training courses for PR professionals.
Within 30 minutes of hearing of the fatal crash from his secretary, Sir Michael was at the scene. He gave a radio interview from his car en route.
He knew almost nothing about what had happened but he said as much as he could. He spoke with compassion, saying he understood how the relatives of passengers must be feeling because he personally knew every member of the crew and that the pilot was an old friend.
He took full control of the situation upon arrival.
Not leaving it to his PR sidekicks, he took the leadership role to address the media of the unfolding drama from the accident site itself. He had been considering a crisis PR exercise only days earlier and was still making up his mind about the simulation when the real thing happened.
He made himself publicly available to press and broadcast crews, giving information as fast as he received it. His priorities were to get the relatives of the injured passengers and crew to the hospitals concerned, and to provide immediate support to the bereaved. Every family was allocated a carer who would organise somewhere for them to stay and look after their personal needs.
He distinguished himself by showing both humanity and control.
He was seen visiting survivors at the same hospital where his mother was being treated. He announced an interim $7,500 payment to the families of the dead and injured. He praised the emergency services and helped the investigators.
He set the tone for the company’s response by saying, “I don’t know what’s happened here but I’m going to the site now and will do everything in my power to help these people.”  
Sir Michael will forever be remembered to this day for his immediate, credible and authoritative response to the disaster. He stated that if British Midland were at fault, they would take full responsibility, but in the meantime the immediate impacts must be dealt with in a considered and efficient manner.
An immediate and effective response was crucial that would go a long way to keep the company’s reputation intact.
Meanwhile, Tony Fernandes has been turning to social media channels to keep the world at large regularly updated with developments expressing his emotions and personal role in handling the AirAsia incident.
A jet-setting businessman who is active on social media, he has used this form of communication – non-existent 26 years ago – to keep messaging as transparent as possible.
Social media has played a crucial role in crisis handling and disseminating authoritative messages regardless of whether there is any substantial update or not.
With a strong social media following across his various business interests including aviation and football – Fernandes is chairman of English Premier League club QPR – he has not been shy of communicating with his audience in good or bad times. He is often surrounded by beautiful cabin crew at promotional events wearing his trademark AirAsia cap and jeans and always prepared to provide news sound bites to the media hungry for a story.
In the current crisis, his biggest to date, leaving tweets and Facebook posts to his social media team has not been an option. He needed to get involved, has done so, and continues to do so.
He flew to Surabaya to be with the families immediately after hearing the news on Sunday morning. Describing the situation on Twitter as his worst nightmare, Fernandes demonstrated genuine concern for customers and staff.
But more importantly under his guidance, AirAsia has been open and responsive to the media with everything that it knows about the situation, deserving praise for actively taking charge of the situation.
Showing genuine compassion and support for families of the victims of AirAsia flight QZ8501 was evident through Fernandes’ tweets.
“Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers. We must stay strong,” said one of his first tweets on the morning of the December 28 crash.
Another stated: “On my way to Surabaya where most of the passengers are from. Providing information as we get it.
A later post the same day said: “I am touched by the massive show of support especially from my fellow airlines. This is my worst nightmare.”
“In Jakarta this morning to communicate with Search and Rescue. All assets now in region. Going back to Surabaya now to be with the families.”
He later went on: “Working with airport to prepare all facilities. And hospital. Chief pilots have been making all arrangements.”
“Hope to fly to evacuation site to thank everyone for putting in so much effort in finding the site. And keep everyone informed.”
Subsequent tweets stated: “Reality of seeing the evacuees and some of my aircraft parts are soul-destroying. But we stay strong. Keeping positive and staying strong. My heart bleeds for all the relatives of my crew and our passengers. Nothing is more important to us.”
But the most touching and fitting tweets for a leader addressing employees and distressed relatives read: “I, as your group CEO will be there through these hard times.  We will go through this terrible ordeal together.
“I have apologised profusely for what they are going through. I am the leader of this company, and I have to take responsibility. That is why I’m here. I’m not running away from my obligations.”
Fernandes’ Twitter presence and profile have paid off for the airline but his personal involvement is likely to make this a devastating blow for a man who has been so closely identified with the rise of one of Southeast Asia’s most visible companies.
The AirAsia group of airlines has had a virtually unblemished safety record until Sunday compared with competitors like Malaysia Airlines and Indonesian carriers such as Lion Air and Garuda Indonesia which have lost several planes in crashes over the last decade.
Fernandes, like Sir Michael, is a CEO who understands issues management. His empathy and concern have been exemplary that he was not going anywhere and would focus on the company’s commitments to the families of those onboard the ill-fated aircraft.
For those watching from afar, it could be argued that Sir Michael and Fernandes had no choice but to face the cameras and the world because they are iconic leaders at the helm of their respective businesses.
But it’s far more than this.
They have had significant or controlling stakes in their airlines from day one, making it so much more distressing seeing their operations grow in front of them to be hit by tragedy. It is more a personal crusade to be at the forefront of everything.
A sense of responsibility and ownership is essential for any leader faced with such a scenario. Taking control and being accountable, and saying sorry for what has happened while at the same time stressing the need to find answers goes a long way to earning respect.
A few handle tragedy well, majority handle it badly. No form of training will ever fully prepare a leader for an unfolding crisis.
But good leaders truly exemplify their leadership in good times and bad. Sir Michael Bishop and Tony Fernandes are such examples.
Let’s look forward to 2015 and hope no leader has to suffer annus horribilis.

- Updesh Kapur is a PR & communications professional, columnist, aviation, hospitality and travel analyst, social and entertainment writer. He can be followed on twitter @updeshkapur