There is no higher religion than human service.

-Albert Schweitzer

    This weekend marked the twentieth anniversary of the crash of Singapore Flight 6, October 31, 2000. Coincidentally, I conducted an update interview with AirAsia Captain Cyrano Latiff.[1] Cyrano was the co-pilot on the flight. The accident occurred during typhoon-related conditions resulting in 96 injuries and 83 fatalities. Members and followers of the Foundation are familiar with Cyrano's name due to his contributions in educating care and special assistance team members on the challenges a pilot and a family face in surviving a crash and its aftermath.

    Cyrano provided a detailed summary of his experience with the accident, including challenges he faced during the investigation, which took place over two years in an earlier article. While the investigators eventually ruled the crash as an accident, he was stripped off of his pilot's license and the identity associated with his life's work. Cyrano struggled to regain his license and career, which resulted in his job flying for AirAsia. Throughout all of this, he never forgot the role that other pilots  played in helping him with feelings of self-worth and value as a human being during his battle.

As no one could have predicted Covid-19—our team had no way of knowing how valuable the peer support team would be in providing connection and support to employees confined to hotel rooms. They were alone, isolated, and unable to go home to families and friends.

    In 2013 Cyrano was instrumental in the development of the AirAsia Peer Support Program for crew members involved in in-flight turbulence, deaths on board, and various critical incidences. As the program has grown, other employee groups can now participate, and many types of crises receive attention. Cyrano heads up the program and has trained many others to assist their co-workers during stressful times.

    Like no one could have predicted Covid-19—Cyrano and his team had no way of knowing how valuable their peer support team would be during this unprecedented crisis. They provided connection and support to the employees who in a lockdown were separated, isolated, and unable to go home to their families and friends. Cyrano, like many crew members, was stranded in an accommodation in Malaysia from March 18 until August 17, 2020.   

Being alone in a room, feeling uncertain about how long the isolation might last, reminded me of the time twenty years ago when the investigative authorities detained our crew in Taiwan following the crash.

    Being alone in a room, feeling uncertain about how long the isolation might last, reminded Cyrano of the time twenty years ago when investigative officials detained the pilot crew in Taiwan following the crash. As a necessary part of the accident investigation, Cyrano and the flight crew were sequestered for several weeks, with strict rules about who they could talk to—family and a few pilots. In addition to the emotional support he received from his wife Cyrena, his parents, and other family members, Cyrano remembers the invaluable role that fellow pilots played during that period of isolation.

    In describing the value of peer support during the early days following the crash and throughout the investigation, Cyrano spoke of the validation and sense of connection he felt with other professionals who shared the same job, faced the same challenges, and experienced the pressures airline pilots face. While the reason for being stranded alone in an accommodation room was quite different from the conditions following the 2000 confinement, Cyrano recognized the similarities and went to work on offering support to others who were isolated and alone.