We have no doubt that the accident investigators from Jamaica and United States will, in time, determine the cause of last week's mishap involving an American Airlines (AA) plane at Kingston's Norman Manley International Airport. They usually do.

That information will add to the body of knowledge that will help to make air travel safer - not just in Jamaica, but globally.

But apart from finding out why flight 331 sped off the runway, crossed a major road and on to sand dunes near the sea on the Atlantic side of Palisadoes and split apart, the Jamaican authorities have another job to do.

They have to undertake a major assessment of the disaster-management procedures at the island's two international airports to determine whether they are robust enough to handle a major disaster, especially now that they have been tested by last week's event.

Christmas miracle

As traumatic as the incident would have been for the crew and 148 passengers aboard that AA flight, it might have been far worse. By the time the plane stopped, its fuselage was broken in three places, an engine had fallen away, and its landing gear had collapsed. Yet, there were no deaths, and injuries were minor in the context of a disaster such as the one occurred.

Colonel Oscar Derby, head of the Jamaica Civil Aviation Authority, described the outcome as something of a Christmas miracle. He was right.

But miracle notwithstanding, Colonel Derby and Transport Minister Mike Henry have been insistent that Norman Manley's emergency-response system operated in accordance with international regulations, and on time. The first emergency vehicles and fire tenders reached the crash site in under four minutes, they said.

Although they might not have said so specifically, the implication was that the incident was managed professionally and efficiently.

Several survivors, however, felt otherwise, complaining of long waits at the incident site for ambulances, and of a general lack of managerial order at both the site and, later, on the airport's compound.

No one, for a long time, took charge, they complained.

"... They (the authorities) should not pat themselves on the back and pretend that everything went well, because it did not," Ambassador Derrick Heaven told this newspaper.

Opportunistic assistance

We make allowances for the disorientation on a wet, dark night of people who had just been through a major trauma. There was also the opportunistic assistance of a bus driver who happened upon the scene.

But Derrick Heaven is not a man given to hyperbole, nor is he overly excitable. Which is why his statements and that of others need to be taken seriously, and the emergency systems robustly reviewed.

As much as we hope that a crisis will never happen again, there is always the possibility that it will.

In any event, our systems have to be prepared for the worst, capable of responding with speed and efficiency. This is critical in a country, such as ours, whose tourism-based economy depends heavily on air travel.

We have to invest the resources to minimise, where we can, the limited risks that come with flying and ensure there is no loss of confidence in Jamaica.

The opinions on this page, except for the above, do not necessarily reflect the views of The Gleaner. To respond to a Gleaner editorial, email us: editor@gleanerjm.com or fax: 922-6223. Responses should be no longer than 400 words. Not all responses will be published.