Amber Meulendyke, Marketing and Public Relations Manager

Just this year, there have been nine incidents involving a commercial aircraft, five of which
were fatal.

The closest to home for most Americans was likely on April 17, when Southwest Airlines Flight 1380 from New York to Dallas experienced a mid-flight engine explosion, damaging a window and partially ejecting a female passenger from the plane. Despite a rapid change in cabin pressure and plunging aircraft, flight crew members and fellow passengers were able to pull the woman inside. Though the pilot made a successful emergency landing in Philadelphia, the woman later died from injuries sustained. It was the first fatality on a U.S. passenger carrier since 2009.

Imagine for a moment being aboard that flight. Oxygen masks are dropping down and you are purchasing in-flight internet to text your loved ones goodbye. Imagine being one of those heroic passengers who pulled the woman back into the plane. Imagine the trauma you may now carry with you from the tragedy.

The road to recovery from any traumatic experience surely begins with the proper support system, and that support should be immediate. After a disaster, survivors and victims, along with their families, deserve an environment where they have the best opportunity to begin the healing process.

When an organization experiences a tragedy like Southwest Flight 1380, providing the necessary support to victims and families can place a huge burden on its ability to maintain continuity of operations. When factoring the emotional toll such an assignment may take on employees who have neither the training nor the experience to effectively address the situation, it’s clear assistance should come from the outside.

At FEI, we’ve recognized the need to address this human dimension of a disaster. We’ve developed a network of trauma specialists who can provide the necessary support for mass casualty events such as aviation accidents, natural disasters, cyberattacks and active shooter situations.

Individuals within FEI’s Crisis Responder Network are highly experienced in providing direct services and logistical support on-site to survivors, survivor families and victim families affected by a mass disaster. They are also specifically trained to provide necessary emotional support to families of these individuals, eliminating the likelihood for untrained and underprepared staff to experience long-term psychological impact as a result of working with traumatized individuals.

FEI regularly recruits trauma specialists to join our Crisis Responder Network. If you or someone you know is interested in joining our Crisis Responder Network, register for our upcoming training running October 18-19.

If you would like information on how to ensure your employees and their families receive the proper support should a crisis impact your organization, contact us today.