NTSBTRAINING NEW ENGLAND AIRPORTS CRISIS COMMUNICATIONS AND FAMILY ASSISTANCE SEMINAR

Transcription

1 What public affairs officers do in the first minutes and hours of an aircraft incident will reflect upon the professionalism of the airport authority, will reinforce the image of the airport as a professional, caring and competent organization, and will help control a situation that will have powerful forces working against control and containment. Airports from throughout New England, the 40 airlines that serve Boston Logan, as well as first responders, public safety agencies, foreign consulate officers and university communications officials from throughout Metropolitan Boston were invited to participate in the New England Airports Crisis Communications and Family Assistance Seminar.

2 AGENDA TUESDAY APRIL 5, :30 a.m. 8:30 a.m. Registration and Continental Breakfast 8:30 a.m. 8:45 a.m. Welcome and Introductions: Thomas J. Kinton, Jr., CEO & Executive Director, Massachusetts Port Authority 8:45 a.m. NTSB Accident Investigations NTSB mission Notification and reporting Critical first hours after accident Major accident investigations How parties are actively involved in an investigation How an organization can prepare to be an effective party to an investigation What happens after the on-scene investigation is over How and when airport and emergency responders become a focus of an investigation Advocating for safer transportation 9:45 a.m. Break APRIL 5PAGE 1 10:00 a.m. NTSB Crisis Communications Program: What to do in crisis communications before the NTSB arrives What information each of the following groups should disseminate: - NTSB - Airline - Airport - Emergency Responders Crisis communications rule of thumb: If you could have answered the question the day before the accident occurred, you can probably answer it after the accident Information flow between NTSB, parties, and news media. Press briefings and special updates: - Type - Interval - Content Social media twittering, facebook posts, youtube videos One-on-one interviews National media special considerations Photo opportunities and press pools Monitoring news stories and social media for accuracy and other issues Release of FAA air traffic control tapes Cockpit voice recorder characterizations and transcript

3 AGENDA WEDNESDAY APRIL 6, :00 a.m. Continental Breakfast 8:30 a.m. 8:45 a.m. Welcome Edward C. Freni, Director of Aviation, Massachusetts Port Authority 9:00 a.m. Transportation Disaster Assistance: What You Need to Think About and Do Before an Accident: Family assistance mission and legislative background Concerns of family members of those involved in an accident Roles of NTSB, airport, airline, emergency responders and local government Family Assistance Center 10:30 a.m. Break 10:45 a.m. Boston Logan International Airport: Emergency Preparedness Exercises and the Critical Assistance Relief Effort (CARE) Team Planning for consolidated real-time exercises to test your response capabilities, communications procedures, and the ability to transport hundreds of casualties from the airfield to local area hospitals. Massport Fire/Rescue Chief Robert Donahue The Impact of HIPAA and Privacy Massport Fire/Rescue Chief Robert Donahue Case Study: September 11, 2001 Boston Logan s Family Assistance Efforts Betty Desrosiers, Director of Strategic Projects & Technology Integration Dealing with the aftermath of an aviation or other transportation disaster can be overwhelming the role of the American Red Cross Amy Gabriel, Director of Disaster Services, American Red Cross 1:00 p.m. Lunch Keynote speaker: Robert Wortman, Chief Emergency Services Officer, American Red Cross The Red Cross Response Beyond the Family Assistance Center APRIL 6PAGE 1

4 Biographies - Massport.com Max Green is the Emergency Operations Coordinator in the NTSB s Office of Transportation Disaster Assistance. Before joining the NTSB Max Green served as the Assistant Managing Director/Program Manager of Human Services for the Philadelphia Office of Emergency Management where he was responsible for field response as well as interagency coordination and planning for citywide disaster human services response and recovery initiatives. Prior to his Philadelphia assignment, he joined the New York City Office of Emergency Management in 2003 as a Human Services Coordinator and also held the positions of Interagency Training and Exercises Coordinator, Emergency Operations Center Coordinator, and trainer. As a native New Yorker, Max initiated his career in emergency management as a volunteer with the American Red Cross in Greater New York in He spent 4 years with the American Red Cross in Greater New York as the Assistant Director of Operations in the Disaster Services unit. In addition to his full time positions Max has also been a consultant with EAD & Associates, LLP. In this role, Max specialized in emergency preparedness, planning, response and recovery issues related to special needs populations. For over ten years Max has been working in the field of emergency management in multiple capacities including field responder, disaster planner (preparedness, response and recovery issues), emergency manager, interagency coordinator, media spokesperson, and trainer. Tara Hamilton is the Public Affairs Manager for the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, which operates Washington Dulles International and Ronald Reagan Washington National Airports. In that capacity she is the chief spokesperson for the organization and is responsible for day-to-day communication with local, national and international media. In her 18 years with the Airports Authority, Tara has been responsible for handling emergency communications for a variety of incidents including an accident involving a Lear Jet at Washington Dulles Airport which took the lives of twelve individuals, gas leaks, accidents involving airport employees, suspicious packages and terminal evacuations, an e coli scare, numerous weather-related airport closures and a few aircraft incidents on runways that resulted in major tie-ups but fortunately caused no fatal injuries. Prior to joining the aviation field, Tara was the Public Affairs Director for the District of Columbia Government Department of Public Works. In that role she gained a wide range of experience dealing with local government issues and fielded media coverage of city services, snow and summer storm emergencies, accidents and infrastructure failures such as broken water mains and deteriorating bridges. Peter Knudson is a Public Affairs Officer at the National Transportation Safety Board. He came to the Safety Board in 2000 where he worked in the NTSB s 24-hour communications center launching go teams of investigators to accident sites around the globe. In 2002, he joined the Safety Board s Office of Transportation Disaster Assistance where he provided family members of accident victims with information and updates about the progress of NTSB investigations. From 2003 until he joined the Office of Public Affairs in April 2007, Peter managed the marketing and communications programs at the NTSB Training Center in Ashburn, Virginia. As an official spokesman for the NTSB, Peter has been quoted in newspapers, magazines and other media outlets, and has given live interviews for radio and television. He has coordinated the on-scene public affairs activities for the following accidents: Natural gas pipeline rupture in San Bruno, Calif. (September 2010) Petroleum pipeline rupture and 800,000-gallon spill in Marshall, Mich. (July 2010) Stearman biplane accident at Washington Reagan National Airport (June 2010) Air ambulance helicopter crash in Brownsville, Tenn. (March 2010) Collision of tractor-trailer and 15-passenger van in Munfordville, KY (March 2010) Air ambulance helicopter crash in Georgetown, SC (September 2009) Collision between two MBTA trolleys in Boston (May 2009) Recreational boating accident in Ponta Vedra, Fla. (April 2009) Forced landing of a US Airways Airbus A-320 into the Hudson River in New York City (January 2009) High-speed runway excursion of a Continental 737 at Denver International Airport (December 2008) High-speed runway excursion of a Learjet 45 in Columbia, SC (September 2008) Collision between a Metrolink commuter train and a Union Pacific freight train in Chatsworth, Calif. (September 2008) Collision between two MBTA trolleys in Newton, Mass. (May 2008) Container ship accident and oil spill in the San Francisco Bay (November 2007) I-35W highway bridge collapse in Minneapolis (August 2007) Cessna 310 crash into houses in Sanford, Fla. (July 2007) Before coming to the Safety Board, Peter worked in customer service, training and ground operations for two airlines. He is a licensed private pilot and has a bachelor s degree in communications and American studies from the California State University, Fullerton. 1 2

5 Lee Weitz is Assistant Director of Aviation at Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority. Lee Weitz joined the NFTA in 2005 as the Assistant Director of Aviation responsible for the oversight of all maintenance and airport operations. He has 32 years of aviation experience working in various management capacities for the major air carrier USAirways. As the Director at the USAirways hub location in Pittsburgh, he was responsible for all aspects of flight operations and Customer Service directing a flight operation of 400 departures a day which included numerous International and cross-border destinations including Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Europe. Prior to overseeing the Pittsburgh hub operation, he spent time as a director or general manager in numerous East-Coast cities including Philadelphia, Washington D.C., and Newark, N.J. Robert J. Donahue is the Chief of the Massport Fire Rescue Department at Boston Logan International Airport Chief Donahue is a 32 year veteran of the Massport Fire Rescue Department and is responsible for management of fire and emergency services for three airports: Boston Logan International Airport, Worcester Regional Airport, and Hanscom Field in Bedford, Massachusetts. Donahue, who became Chief in 2002, is known for his work on facility risk assessments, terrorism response planning, and a comprehensive terminal protection and life safety initiative. He is the architect of the largest mass casualty exercises at any airport in the world drills designed to test the skill and readiness of Boston area emergency personnel to respond under various emergency scenarios. Operation Ready 2007 simulated the airfield collision of two aircraft in which some 500 volunteer victims, triaged in color-coded t-shirts, were transported to area hospitals. The exercise mobilized 60 different agencies including 13 area hospitals, 1,000 emergency personnel, about 70 ambulances, 35 fire vehicles, two helicopters, eight boats, and about 20 buses. Operation Ready 2010 was the largest water rescue exercise at any airport. A barge and floating docks simulated a partially submerged Boeing 747 with more than 300 people on board. Approximately 100 cadets from the Massachusetts Maritime Academy played the roles of surviving passengers and were rescued by a flotilla of government and private vessels. In addition to his designing emergency drills, Donahue gained recognition for several initiatives, including the development of a GO TEAM that assesses aviation disasters via on-site investigations. Donahue is a graduate of the Chief Fire Officer Management Program from the University of Massachusetts and the Leadership in Crisis Program from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. He holds degrees from North Shore Community College and Boston State College. Donahue serves on the National Fire Protection Association Technical Committee on Aircraft Rescue and Firefighting, is an active member of the Aircraft Rescue Fire Fighting Working Group, International Aviation Fire Protection Association, Airports Council International, as well as many fire and emergency management organizations in Metropolitan Boston. 3 Robert (Bob) Wortman is Chief Emergency Services Officer for the American Red Cross, Massachusetts Bay Chapter. Bob brings over 25 years of American Red Cross experience to the Massachusetts Bay Chapter. Bob s career began as a Disaster Action Team (DAT) volunteer and Health and Safety instructor for the Southeast Louisiana Chapter. Since then he has held many positions within the American Red Cross including roles in Marketing, Emergency Services, Disaster, Readiness, and Operations. Bob has been an active member of the Disaster Services Human Resource System (DSHR) since 1986, and is currently an leveled as an Assistant Director. He has directed relief efforts for hurricanes, floods, tornadoes, wild fires, ice storms, winter storms and many man-made disasters. As the Chief Emergency Services Officer for Massachusetts Bay, Bob is responsible for the strategic planning, implementation and evaluation of the Red Cross Emergency Services within Eastern Massachusetts. This includes coordinating and managing the emergency response teams of staff and volunteers, mental health professionals and working with local fire and emergency departments and community partners in preparing for and responding to needs of disaster victims. Bob received a bachelors degree in Philosophy from St. Mary s of the Barrens Seminary in Perryville, Missouri. Highlight list of disaster operations that Bob has assisted in managing includes: Hurricane Gustav (Baton Rouge, LA) Hurricane Rita (Louisiana) Hurricane Katrina (Louisiana) World Trade Center Explosion 9/11 (New Jersey) Hurricane Andrew (South Florida) Hurricane Hugo (St. Croix, VI) 4 Betty Desrosiers is Director of Aviation Planning and Strategy for Massport. As such, she is responsible for taking the long view regarding the Authority s three airports: Boston Logan International Airport, Worcester Regional Airport, and Hanscom Field in Bedford. One of Desrosiers functions is to use technology and innovation to increase airport efficiency both airside and landside as well as consider how any change in operations will impact the environment and neighboring communities. As part of her strategic planning for the Authority, Desrosiers was an architect of Massport s Family Assistance Center, which quickly fills a critical void in an emergency by providing information, aid, comfort and compassion to friends and family of individuals involved in a transportation disaster. During such an emergency Desrosiers serves as the director of the FAC, overseeing a trained team of 70 Massport employees; Desrosiers is responsible for selecting and training team members. She activated and directed the Family Assistance Center at Boston Logan on September 11, 2001 and maintained the center for many days after the terrorist attack. Desrosiers came to Massport in 1992 and served as Manager of the Noise Abatement Office and later as Director of Aviation Planning. Prior to her joining Massport, she worked two years for the Massachusetts Aeronautics Commission and for the City of Cambridge for 11 years, leaving as Director of Neighborhood Planning. She started working in the Cambridge Planning and Community Development Office when the Red Line was extended from Harvard Station through North Cambridge and Somerville to West Cambridge. Desrosiers is a graduate of the Harvard Kennedy School of Government and the University of Massachusetts/Amherst. Amy Gabriel joined the American Red Cross as a volunteer in 1993 deploying to various large scale disasters throughout the country as a caseworker. She worked as an Emergency Services Director for 14 years in a chapter in Pennsylvania. Throughout her career Amy has worked with hundreds of families, providing them critical services including housing, food, and clothing following their disaster. Amy began her work in aviation response following the crash of a chartered flight near her home in Pennsylvania. On September 11, 2001, Amy was deployed to Shanksville, PA where she worked as the Assistant Director of Operations for the American Red Cross response to the crash of United Flight 93. Additionally, Amy served as the Events Manager for that response where she managed three different memorial services honoring those whose lives were lost on board that flight. Since 2001, Amy has worked with the American Red Cross National Headquarters to provide aviation planning training to Red Cross chapters and their partners throughout the country. In February, 2009 Amy responded to the crash of Continental Flight 3407 in Buffalo, NY where she worked as the Events Manager. 5 Opening Remarks

6 Registration Form - Massport.com Online Agenda - Massport.com

7 All seminar participants were awarded certificates at the completion of training.