Several things
occurred over the
next several
hours, days,
weeks, months and
years that gave me
support. It
started that night
when I received
positive feedback
from our Vice
Chairman, Bob Baker.
-Greg Klein
General Manager,
Little Rock, Arkansas
at time of the
crash of AA Flight
1420
1.
CVC: How did you
see the accident
from a spiritual
perspective?
GK: From my
standpoint, as a
responder, I don’t
think I ever thought
of this event from a
spiritual
perspective. I
do remember at one
point in the early
morning after I was
advised on a
conference call that
our “Go Team” would be
traveling to LIT as
quickly as
possible, I
walked outside and
while standing
under the jet bridge
to get some fresh air,
I
cried. The
pressure was extreme
and I prayed to God
for the strength I
needed to get through
that morning and the
entire
event.
While
the accident of AA1420
was a horrible event,
I see it as an event
that was caused by
weather and human error.
I
never once thought of
the crash as an event
that was part of God’s
plan.
2.
CVC: Where did
you get emotional
support during the
first few
weeks?
GK: Several
things occurred over
the next few hours,
days, weeks, months,
and years that gave me support.
It
started that night
when I received
positive feedback from
our Vice Chairman, Bob Baker.
We
talked in private by
phone and he assured
me he was available to
me if needed and he
would support anything
I needed or wanted to do.
His
confidence in me and
my abilities to deal
with the situation
gave me strength and
emotional support to
get through that night
and the upcoming days,
weeks, and years.
My
immediate boss arrived
the next day with two
of my peers and they
were there to help me.
Managing
a small station made
me the expert in all
areas and I had many
calls for help.
Be
it the aircraft
maintenance team over
the hill working to
recover the aircraft,
sitting with my
employees to try to
help them deal with
the emotions going on,
responding to CARE
Team and Go Team
requests, etc.
One
of my peers was by my
side constantly and my
boss and the other
peer ran the many
conference calls my
station was being
invited to sit in on.
Having
these three friends by
my side allowed me to
open up or cry
whenever needed so I
look at these three
gentlemen as constant
support givers to me.
American
Airlines assigned a
very caring Employee
Assistance Program
(EAP) representative
to my station and he
was there to help all
those members of the
LIT team. This
gentleman did an
incredible job
floating throughout
our facility, talking
to any and every
employee at work and
he was constantly
showing up by my side
when I would sneak
outside for a fresh
breath of air and time
to reflect.
Several
years later, I called
EAP for myself and the
response on the other
end of the phone was
“I have been waiting
for this call for a
very long time.”
Once
work got back to as
close to normal as it
could, I decided I had
to be at every one of
my four sons’
school/sporting events
so I could try to get
myself back to feeling
normal. I now think
this event numbed me
to life.
When
in public, I kept a
low profile because I
was embarrassed that
the company I loved
had caused so many
people in my community
harm. Many of my
employees expressed
this same feeling.
3.
CVC: What actions
did you take to get
through/finish the
business of the
crash?
GK: For my
entire career, I was
driven as a manager to
work hard to create a
team spirit among my
employees. I felt it
important they think
of me as one of the
team
members. One
employee said to
me that
“he went over the
hill” because he knew
I needed his
help. He
said that compared to
all of the other
managers he had worked
for, I was the only
one who made it known
that we worked
together as a team.
His other bosses made
it known that the
employees worked for
the manager.
I
felt LIT had very good
employees and they
worked well as a team.
Most
of the LIT employees
really
understood the need to
take care of our
customers and they had
my confidence.
The
night of the accident,
I
had excellent
employees on duty and
excellent employees
who responded to our
call for help.
Having
good employees on duty
gave me one less thing
to worry about.
My
bosses at American
always allowed me to
run my station as if I
owned the business and
I wanted the employees
to make decisions.
I
felt my management
team was strong.
The
first manager to
arrive gathered the
hand full of ramp
employees on duty and
proceeded to the
accident site to help
and feed information
back to me.
The
second manager went to
the triage site and
started gathering as
much information as
possible on each
passenger going
through triage and
sending it back to my office.
T
he
third manager went to
the family and friends
gathering site to
assist with the people
waiting there at the
airport inquiring
about their loved ones.
As
we gathered
information from the
site and triage on who
was going where, we
funneled that
information to the
family and friends
gathering site and
that information was
passed along to those
waiting for their
loved ones.
I
felt each area worked
well considering the
fact that we didn’t
have a lot of manpower.
I
always trusted my
employees’ ability
to make good, common
sense decisions. I
knew I had to support
each of them more than
manage them.
After
the accident, I often
said my management
style was to treat my
employees fairly and
with respect so if I
ever needed them to
follow me over the
hill, they would–
like they did that night.
I
am forever grateful to
each of my LIT employees.
They
were the main reason I
was able to get
through the business
of the crash.
4.
CVC: Did you need
to forgive anyone?
If so, who was
it?
GK:
NO
(Greg
and I discussed that
in order for many
survivors to move
forward in the
integration of
trauma, forgiveness
may be part of their
journey. Greg did
not feel that this
question applied to
him.)
5.
CVC: What have
you done to create
from the
trauma?
GK:
Since
the accident, I have
told my story to
several aviation
groups in an effort to
help them understand
what we, the LIT
employee responders
went through in Little
Rock. I stress to each
group who asks me to
speak, the crucial
need to properly
prepare everyone in
your station– not
just the management team.
You
never know who will be
on duty when an
accident occurs—so
everyone needs to be
prepared to respond.
One
individual can not do
it all.
You
need help and you need
everyone performing
properly.
Each
time I speak to a
group of airline
station management,
I
can feel I am really
connecting to the group.
I
am one of them.
I
am a peer talking to
them who actually
experienced a major
accident event. I can
see in their eyes that
my story is really
hitting home.
I
feel they know that I
am not a “suit” from corporate.
6.
CVC: Have you
integrated the
experience into your
life?
What did you
leave behind and
what do you carry
with
you?
GK: I think the
experience of the
accident caused me to
look at my job and
life a bit differently
from that point
on. Once,
when assessing a
situation on our ramp
that included aircraft
damage, my first
question to my manager
was, “Is anyone hurt
or has anyone lost
their
life?” I
was trying to make a
point that we deal
with weather,
machines, and man…
none of which can be
totally
controlled. After
he answered “no” I
provided my thoughts
on how I thought we
should deal with the
situation and we moved
on. I
think I was a kinder
boss after the
accident.
In
my life, I think I am
way more aware of
safety and I am not
afraid to speak up if
things do not look right.
I
can assure you I am
very aware of the
location of the exit
row on every flight I
board in relation to
my seat location and I
look for exits when I
enter buildings/rooms
with the goal of
always knowing the
quickest way out if
something happens.
Overall
in my life I think I
am a more confident
individual because I
was thrown into a very
difficult situation. I
dealt with it and I
survived.
7.
CVC: This
question is about
your connection with
Spirit/God. How
do you stay
connected to those
who have gone before
you?
GK: Each
morning, I start my
day with a special
prayer and in that
prayer, I reflect on
all those people
close to me who are
sick and/or have
passed. I
find starting my day
this way reminds me
how lucky I have
been to have all
these people in my
life and it keeps
all those who
are/were special
close to
me. This
seems to let me
start my day on a
positive note.