The Leading in a Crisis Podcast
Interviews, stories and lessons learned from experienced crisis leaders. Email the show at Tom@leadinginacrisis.com.
Being an effective leader in a corporate or public crisis situation requires knowledge, tenacity, and influencing skills. Unfortunately, most of us don't get much training or real experience dealing with crisis situations. On this podcast, we will talk with people who have lived through major crisis events and we will tap their experience and stories from the front lines of crisis management.
Your host, Tom Mueller, is a veteran crisis manager and trainer with more than 30 years in the corporate communications and crisis fields. Tom currently works as an executive coach and crisis trainer with WPNT Communications, and as a contract public information officer and trainer through his personal company, Tom Mueller Communications LLC.
Your co-host, Marc Mullen, has over 20 years of experience as a communication strategist. He provides subject matter expertise in a number of communication specializations, including crisis communication plan development, response and recovery communications, emergency notifications and communications, organizational reviews, and after-action reports. He blogs at Blog | Marc Mullen
Our goal is to help you grow your knowledge and awareness so you can be better prepared to lead should a major crisis threaten your organization.
Music credit: Special thanks to Nick Longoria from Austin, Texas for creating the theme music for the podcast.
The Leading in a Crisis Podcast
EP65 Quick take - UPS plane crash in Louisville, KY, with guest Michele Ehrhart
A deadly crash at UPS’s Louisville hub put crisis leadership under a microscope—and the first 24 hours told a powerful story about timing, empathy, and restraint. We invited Michele Ehrhart, former VP of Global Communications at FedEx and author of Crisis Compass, to unpack how the early communications played out in this heartbreaking incident.
We walk through the initial statements that landed within hours: awareness first, compassion next, and a clear handoff to the NTSB as the authority on cause and timeline. From there, we explore why “do no harm” is more than a slogan—it’s a filter that keeps leaders from filling silence with speculation. You’ll hear how family hotlines, verified safety guidance, and precise update cadence support trust when uncertainty is high, and why a CEO video isn’t an automatic lever on day one.
Our guest, Michele Ehrhart is author of the new crisis guide book, Crisis Compass, available now. She is Chief Marketing and Communications Officer at the University of Memphis, and also serves as CEO at Hart Communications, a reputation management firm.
We'd love to hear from you. Email the show at Tom@leadinginacrisis.com.
Hi everyone and welcome back to the Leading in a Crisis Podcast. We're happy to have you with us again this week for another exciting episode. On our show today, we're going to do a quick deep dive into a crisis situation that's just developing now, and that's the plane crash of a United Parcel Service aircraft that crashed on takeoff in Louisville, Kentucky, here in the United States. This happened about 5:15 p.m. on Tuesday night, which was just last night, so about 15 hours ago from now. Now it crashed in Louisville, Kentucky. That is UPS's main hub for their package processing here in the United States. So a significant potential operational impact on the company there. What we want to do is kind of take a look at the crisis communications aspect in the early part of this response. Now it has been a very tragic incident in that we have current reports now of nine people dead as a result of the incident and another 11 people injured. So we have a crew of three on the aircraft and people on the ground who were injured. So it's a horrific incident. But again, this is those unexpected crisis situations that can happen. Our challenge as communicators is how do we respond to that crisis? Now on the show today, I have a special guest with expertise in the package shipping industry and crisis communications in general. And she is Michelle Earhart. Now, Michelle worked as vice president of global communications for FedEx, who's the other large package carrier here in the United States, and so has deep experience in this industry. Michelle also has a new book out called Crisis Compass, which we'll talk about on another episode of the podcast. But just know you've got a published author here with us as well as an expert in this field. Michelle, thanks for joining us.
Michele Ehrhart:Tom, thanks for having me.
Tom Mueller:So let's jump right into the Crisis Communications response to the incident. The incident occurred about 5:15 p.m., as I mentioned. The company had their first statement issued about 6.40 p.m. So it was about an hour and 25 minutes after the crash occurred, and they posted a statement on the X platform as well as on their company website. The second statement, well, that first statement was the basics of what you'd expect. The we are aware of the incident message, and we are in action responding. The second message from the company came out about three hours later, and that was the more empathetic statement that included language that said, we're terribly saddened by what's happened here, and it's a blow to our family here at UPS. They also referenced the NTSB investigation. Any aircraft crash here in the U.S. will be investigated by the National Transportation Safety Board. So the airlines really have to give deference to those. And finally, they reference the family hotline for family members who may be looking for their individuals. So the company got two statements out within about three hours of the incident. We did not see any video statements from a senior executive of the company or the CEO, which oftentimes you do see in aircraft incidents. So, Michelle, I want to pull you in here now and uh get your thoughts on this early crisis communications response here.
Michele Ehrhart:Let me start by saying this. Having worked in the transportation industry for so long, doing the type of work I did, I know exactly what they're probably working on because you can't be UPS, FedEx, or any other global company without having a communications crisis plan. So, in my headline for you is they're doing everything right. I talk about in my book, what I call the golden hour, where you have a very short period of time to acknowledge that something has happened and that you are working on it. And they did that. And then they came back out behind that with a little more information, but they don't have a lot of information. And if you think about the sequence of events that was happening on the ground, there was a shelter in place put in place because of where the crash happened and what it crashed into. And so they're trying to ensure the safety of those in the surrounding area. I would imagine the time between the initial statement and the one that was three hours in is they were trying to get all of the information they could. And that is the first line of defense when you're talking about crisis communications. I mean, the first thing you want to do is acknowledge that you are aware, and then the second is do no harm. So you don't want to go out with information too soon and make the situation worse or speculate or not have your facts. So I believe at this point they've done everything right. And you commented about the lack of a leadership video. You know, in my 22 years at FedEx, we never once went out with a CEO video after a crisis, and and a lot of that has to do with the nature of what the crisis is, and and maybe later there'll be an opportunity that would warrant the CEO to come out, but I'm not at all surprised by that or disturbed by that. I think it's probably part of their protocol, and they do have one, and everyone in this industry does. And you know, we spent so much of our time in that crisis communications area planning the work, and now you're working the plan. There is no perfect crisis communications plan because you can't predict the exact thing that will happen. But I guarantee you, UPS has a plan that they have done drills on, tabletop exercises, and they've practiced. And now they are putting out what they have practiced.
Tom Mueller:And so far, so good on with their communications. Now it's interesting. Uh, I'm thinking about UPS in this context as an airline because what we're dealing with is an aircraft crash. But in reality, this is really a package delivery company that happens to use aircraft. And so it's a very different approach than you'd get from, say, a United Airlines or a Southwest Airlines, where they're carrying several hundred passengers on aircraft, and the human impact of a crash with those carriers uh would necessarily be much larger. So, in those cases, we do see those CEO videos coming out fairly quickly. Michelle, as we think about what the teams are going through right now, they're in the throes of crisis response now. With Louisville being the package hub for UPS, uh, it's going to have a significant operational impact on the company. And then the communications have to start reflecting what's happening there operationally as well. So, from your perspective and experience, what do you see sort of happening in the background there now?
Michele Ehrhart:I would imagine the team in their operations area are looking at how do you do business continuity? Because while this did happen at their hub, and what was on that plane was a total loss, and they know exactly what was on that plane. The tracking and the technology is so sophisticated, they will contact anyone who had a package on that plane and let them know. Beyond that, they're working to secure the area, make sure that people are safe, and then to get back operational as soon as possible. Because they do have a hub operation there where the majority of their packages are likely going through a particular area and they want to get that continuity back. They've built a brand on reliability and speed, and they've got to get back to that quickly.
Tom Mueller:Okay, it's an excellent point because you're right. The business continuity plan is going to be activated alongside your crisis communications plan for an incident like this, and then trying to figure out do we have um alternative locations where we can process packages coming in or all of that stuff that's uh logistics, potentially logistics nightmare, I guess, to keep it all rolling. But hopefully, you know, the airport gets opened up uh again quickly and they can resume operations. But right now they've got the airport closed and the investigations happening. And in fact, they're still searching for survivors in the uh rubble of the affected buildings because the aircraft crashed off site from the airport and there were some on-the-ground injuries there. I want to talk just for a few minutes about the one of the early press conferences uh that I watched live as it was happening. And this was about two and a half hours after the incident occurred, and the governor hosted the press conference, so he was able to get on site and uh and host that press conference. And there were uh it was it was quite a showing of leadership for this particular press conference, which lasted about 25 minutes. There were nine different statements given by individuals in that press conference. So I'm just thinking about the logistics and coordination of a press conference with nine different speakers after, you know, in a crisis incident like this. And um, interestingly, UPS was not part of that press conference. Um, so there's some sort of food for thought there, but it really was the governor, uh, director of emergency management, uh, fire chief, police chief, elected officials of various levels. Um, Michelle, as you think about that, uh to me it's quite daunting when you've got, you know, nine different people speaking at a press conference and trying to stay focused, deliver clear and concise messaging to your stakeholders out there. How do you coach a company that maybe pulled into a press conference like this in order to be successful with their participation?
Michele Ehrhart:Well, I think the important part to realize here is that it was not UPS's press conference. So it was a conference, press conference that was called by the you know, the leadership of the city of Louisville. And I think it's great that they had such a showing and solidarity of their leadership. I think you said you had congressmen and the governor was there, and the deputy mayor and and lots of people that showed they were rallying around a terrible tragedy. That that's all excellent. I'm not sure everyone needed to speak, because to your point, this was a time of let's get critical information out to the masses. Uh, but again, I wasn't in the room to make that decision. As far as UPS being in the room, there's probably a lot of perspectives on that. At some point, I believe they will be in the room, but at the time, my guess is they were working the actual event. Uh and bringing an UPS spokesperson into the room, they didn't have much to offer. They did read a statement. Uh, so I don't know having a having a person there would have made much difference at that early onset press conference. Maybe the one later was an opportunity for a UPS spokesperson to be there. But again, I don't know the circumstances around it. I do think that the press conference they did later in the evening around the nine or 10 o'clock time frame was very succinct. And it was the governor and it was the mayor had gotten there by that time, and the leaders of the first responding teams so that there was actual information to be disseminated to the public about what to do next, which is the purpose of those press conferences. It's great to add the empathy and to show the solidarity, but it's really about getting crucial information out to the people who are impacted.
Tom Mueller:Yeah, that's absolutely right. Terrific point there. That's the point of the press conference. But they so often happen these days, they tend to get pirated a little bit because it's an opportunity to get visibility in front of the cameras, in front of your constituents. And that's why we saw, you know, these nine different um people, because you had uh one congressman, a state senator, uh a local city councilman. You know, by the time they get to your comments, if you're the ninth person in line, there's not a lot more you can say or add. Um, but that's just the reality of the way these events go now. And companies, of course, have to be prepared to engage in that. And uh, you know, to get there to be part of it, deliver your messaging. And of course, you want to say thank you to the first responders who are helping to you know deal with the tragic incident on the ground. Uh, you provide empathy for folks who've been impacted by this. And it's an opportunity to to just acknowledge your employees and what they're feeling, what they're going through.
Michele Ehrhart:Um I think there's a time for that though. And and really at the beginning of all of this, having UPS there almost took away from here's what you need to do, you need a shelter in place. We aren't sure what this plume of smoke has in it. Here's where we're telling you do not come to the crime to the scene of the accident because you're hindering first responders from getting to people who could need our help. You know, telling the public what they need to do immediately versus trying to determine on the fly what caused it. That was not the immediate need. The accident happened. What caused it wasn't important at that moment. It was keeping everyone on the ground safe.
Tom Mueller:That came through pretty clearly in the press conferences that I watched there. That was the driving message. Um, shelter in place, stay away from the incident. And as this progresses now in the coming days and weeks, the National Transportation Safety Board will, of course, take ownership of the investigation. And so the company that owns the aircraft then typically has less and less to say as the investigation proceeds. So we really get a glimpse of their crisis plans, you know, in the first 24 hours after the incident, before the investigation really takes over communications on that. Well, there were a couple of um highlights from the press conference I just wanted to talk to briefly, uh, Michelle, and just get your thoughts on. Uh, one was the fire chief, uh, Louisville fire chief spoke, and um by the way, all of the crisis professionals who spoke at that press conference just exuded confidence uh and capability. So you felt very assured watching this that these guys were in control and taking charge of this situation. The fire chief, you know, had about a oh, I don't know, a minute piece of the press conference and a lot of good information he was sharing uh for stakeholders and and people in the area. But he went through it so quickly, it was just amazing. I was thinking back to my reporter days. If I was there with a pad trying to take notes from this fire chief talking, it's hopeless. Give it up. My advice on that is just slow down, chief, right? If you're gonna participate in that, slow it down, pause occasionally in here and make sure people are getting your full commentary. What are your thoughts on that, Michelle?
Michele Ehrhart:I hear you. It and if you and I could get in a room with them prior to a press conference and coach them through it, that's one thing. But this really was live. And he maybe he's a fast talker, maybe he had a lot of adrenaline and he had a lot to say. The good news is reporters record everything. So they had a chance to at least go back and slow it down and hear it multiple times. Ideally, you would have some coaching for him beforehand, but um, honestly, luckily for me, I never went through that experience at FedEx. And I would not know how I would react. I would hope I could be slow and articulate, but you know, unfortunately, in a live situation, you are you are at the mercy of whatever's happening in the room at that moment.
Tom Mueller:Well, and isn't that why we put our teams through crisis exercises? And we put those executives, those incident commanders in front of the podium and grill them with questions, right? And get them prepared to deal with high stress situations like this so they can be most effective. And that, of course, is the goal here is you've got good information. We want to make sure you're presenting it in a way that everybody can um, you know, can capture and take in easily.
Michele Ehrhart:Absolutely.
Tom Mueller:Hey, there's one other uh comment uh in that press conference, and it was it really, really touched me. Um, and it was the the last spokes or the last person who spoke in this long line of people speaking, but it was a local city council person. And um, their comment was very much to the neighborhood, uh, to our friends and and colleagues working here. We're all part of you know the UPS community here. And he uh made a comment that said something like, you know, people are texting their friends tonight to try and you know check in and make sure everyone's okay. And sadly, some of those texts are not going to be answered tonight because people just aren't there. And it was just such a touching, empathetic comment to make um for the local community. Your thoughts on on that approach?
Michele Ehrhart:It's powerful. I mean it said everything people were feeling, and to hear it from one of their community leaders was even more impactful. Now, back to our point of having nine people speak at a press conference. I hope they got to the end and were able to hear that statement because I think that statement and the showing of empathy really articulated what we were discussing earlier. Having the people in that room made everyone watching feel some level of comfort because their leaders were paying attention to this and rallying around a terrible incident. And I felt like he articulated really the gravity of the situation, the empathy of the situation, and the community aspect of the situation. You and I are gonna go on with our lives much quick more quickly than someone who lives in Louisville because we're not living every day the aftermath of what is happening.
Tom Mueller:Yeah, it was truly, truly touching. Now, just to pull the lens back a little bit and look at uh the overall press conference, the governor hosted again, as I said. Um, and you know, those key messages around empathy, care, and concern, and providing actionable information for neighbors and people living nearby all came through very clearly. You clearly see an executive team in the state who are well trained, uh well plugged in and getting the job done. And that's one of the most important things that we can see in a situation like this.
Michele Ehrhart:So especially when you don't have details, when you don't have the answers, you're right. Kudos to them for rallying the right people in the room with strong messages and as much information as they could provide to the public about how to stay safe.
Tom Mueller:Well, Michelle, thank you for joining us for this episode of the podcast. We really appreciate kind of hearing your expertise, your thoughts on uh what's happening out here. So thank you for joining us.
Michele Ehrhart:I appreciate you having me. And as I said before, this is the scenario that in that field you fear the most. And I'm I couldn't say more good things about the way UPS is handling it because I know that they planned that work and they're now working that plan.
Tom Mueller:And that's gonna do it for this episode of the Leading in a Crisis Podcast. Thanks again for joining us. If you'd like to email the show, you can drop me an email at Tom at Leadinginacrisis.com. And we appreciate you. We'll see you again on another episode.
