Challenge
Just after 4:30 p.m., on Monday, January 31, 2000, David Marriott received a call from long time client Alaska Airlines. It was the news that everyone involved in the airline industry dreads most. One of Alaska's aircraft had disappeared from radar. Just minutes earlier, Flight 261, an MD-80 flying from Puerto Vallarta to Seattle, had crashed into the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California. All 88 passengers and crew were killed, including 12 airline employees and 32 of their family members and friends.
 
The demand for information was immediate and immense. Within minutes, calls from the media began flooding in. Within 30 minutes, more than 100 reporters and three dozen satellite and other media trucks had arrived at Alaska's corporate headquarters. For Gogerty Stark Marriott, the first priority was to assist Alaska in getting accurate information to the media, balanced with sensitivity to the passengers' families who were also being informed as quickly as possible.
 
Solution
David Marriott and Joel VanEtta were immediately assigned full-time to Alaska Airlines and worked nonstop for the next 48 hours to assist the airline's corporate communications staff in handling the tragedy. The airline's vice president for communications was dispatched to California to assist the CEO in meeting there with families and the media, Marriott was placed in charge of media response efforts at headquarters. These included two call centers handling hundreds of inquiries every hour, frequent updates on the company's website and media briefings.
 
For the next year, Marriott and VanEtta worked out of Alaska Airlines' offices to assist in communications related to the accident, and investigations by the National Transportation Safety Board, the Federal Aviation Administration and independent safety experts hired by the airline to scrutinize every aspect of operations related to safety. Even before the accident, federal prosecutors in California were investigating reports of maintenance irregularities at the company's Oakland aircraft service center. The investigation intensified after the crash and increased the media focus on the airline's safety and maintenance procedures.
 
Results
While nothing could reduce the human impact of the Flight 261 tragedy, Alaska Airlines was complimented for the way it handled the communications challenges presented by the accident. Because of a longstanding relationship, Gogerty Stark Marriott staff were able to help immediately when the crisis happened, and to continue assisting as the airline communicated about what investigators found and the enhancements made to maintenance and safety programs.