Someone get American Airlines the Cluetrain Manifesto, stat!
Compare this:
Corporate Press Release: Updated: Statement On Miami International Airport Incident
Fort Worth , Texas – There was an incident on the jetbridge of flight 924 scheduled to depart from Miami to Orlando. The incident involved a Federal Air Marshal who had been onboard the aircraft, as well as one male passenger who had also been onboard. That passenger had deplaned the aircraft and was on the jetbridge when he came into contact with the Federal Air Marshal and the incident occurred. None of the other 113 passengers onboard were affected or were ever in any danger. This was an isolated incident. Any further details should come from either the Miami Dade Metro Police or the Federal Air Marshal office. American will not have any additional comment at this time.
Note: This press release was accurate at the date of issuance. However, information contained in the release may have changed. If you plan to use the information contained herein for any purpose, verification of its continued accuracy is your responsibility.
Updated: Statement On Miami International Airport Incident
With what really happened:
…marshals fatally shot Rigoberto Alpizar, an American Airlines passenger at Miami International Airport. The Federal Air Marshals Service said Alpizar had claimed to have a bomb on a jet before running from the aircraft and up a jetway. The Homeland Security Department said the shooting was the first by an air marshal.
USATODAY.com – Air marshals thrust into spotlight
Yeah, my degree of trust for American Airlines just went negative. We all know what happened here, we have other sources, y’know? Why can’t you just speak the truth of what happened? Don’t your customers deserve better than “came into contact with the Federal Air Marshal and the incident occurred”? Ugh.
Factory Joe 
That was a wierd event. I’m glad they shot the guy, because if they didnt and the guy actually had a bomb, there would have been hell to pay. Either way, you’ll have people upset, which is kinda asinine since the marshall did what he was supposed to to protect the people on board. If a guy claims to have a bomb in his bag, and then reaches in, you’d better do something damn fast.
What’s odd is the sudden lack of coverage. Did the guy had a bomb? Was the bomb on the plane? What really happened? I’ve heard about five different versions of the story. This is definitely a media problem. Apparently aviation officials were worried, and had good reason to: http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/Investigation/story?id=1383832&CMP=OTC-RSSFeeds0312 so that may have played into the situation.
Who knows? I think the marshall acted as he should have to protect the passengers. But I wasn’t there. I didnt know the guy. We’ll see how this pans out.
Yeah, I don’t really have an opinion on what happened other than it’s certainly a tragedy and underscores the reality of what being “prepared” entails.
My post was primarily about the stogey and uninformative press release that AA issued, adding nothing useful to the confusion and leading me to wonder what their emotional response, if anything, might have been. Just seems like an awfully heartless response.