Can Media Understand Aviation ?

I held this post in my drafts sections for a while, mostly because I don’t like to speak negatively. I tried to reformulate it several times, but could not help. So here it is, raw and rough.

Can media understand anything ? Well, on one hand it’s not possible to be an expert in all fields, but from that to writing anything just to get more audience, there’s a world of difference. A few weeks ago, I copied a series of headlines from Google News, which collects links to several hundreds of other websites. All these were less than 24 hours old, and were all triggered by an update published by the team investigating the Spanair crash in Madrid. My three favorites are:

• Investigators unsure what caused Spanish crash
• Wing flaps faulted in Spain crash
• Wing problems blamed for crash

Did the reporters really read the same update ? Who were the guys who wrote these headlines ? What do they know about wings, and flaps ? I copied all the headlines below this post, and as you’ll see they range from “wing problems” to “unknown reasons”. Reading such things make me sad and angry. They give an incorrect perception of aviation to the readers who simply trust these media. In this case, it relates “only” to mechanical parts of the aircraft, but what if media report the same ways about possible pilot errors ? Not to mention the possible impact of such publications on the victims relatives.

I knew for long that the main goal of media is to sell copies and advertisement, and that they do better with spectacular news. There is however a difference between know about that and living it in one’s own field of expertise. Years ago, the comapny I was working for got involved in an accident. A couple of days after, some media already “knew” all about the causes. The quality of the reports were so bad that some even mixed the name of the company with the name of some technical equipment used. That was quite a lesson for me.

Now, enjoy the show… oh, I meant the news.

Spanair crash caused by wing flaps
Financial Times, UK

Spanair Crash Investigators Say Flaps Weren’t Used (Update1)
Bloomberg

Investigators unsure what caused Spanish crash
The Associated Press

Flaps fault behind Madrid plane disaster
The Age, Australia

Wing flaps faulted in Spain crash
BBC News, UK

Officials unsure what caused Spanish plane crash
International Herald Tribune, France

Pilot error not to blame for Madrid air crash, say investigators
Telegraph.co.uk, UK

Faulty wing flaps have been blamed for causing the Spanish plane crash
InTheNews.co.uk, UK

Plane crash investigation pinpoints wing-flap problem
Argentina Star, Argentina

Spanair crash report released
France24, France

Wing flaps responsible for Madrid crash
TravelBite.co.uk, UK

Wing problems blamed for crash
CBBC Newsround, UK

Spanair crash unexplained
TeleText, UK

Madrid Barajas crash initial report approved
Typically Spanish, Spain

Report blames faulty flaps in Madrid crash
International Herald Tribune, France

Tagged as: accident, media, report, Spanair