American Airlines CEO under fire for 'lack of respect' with outfit during briefing about DC plane crash

CEO of American Airlines Robert Isom has come under fire on social media for the 'disrespectful' outfit he wore to film a video statement regarding Wednesday night's plane crash. Isom issued a heartfelt message to family members whose loved ones were onboard the passenger flight that crashed with a military helicopter at Reagan International Airport in Washington, D.C. just before 9pm. The businessman was dressed in a navy blue pullover, which featured a zip and wore a white shirt underneath, but many people were unimpressed with his casual attire.

Posting the video on X, formerly known as Twitter, one person captioned it: 'Dog if I die in one of your planes you gotta put a tie on, don't mourn me in performance fleece,' and others were quick to comment. 'That's probably cashmere, but you're not wrong,' one person replied, while a second said: 'Someone needs to tell this guy he's not a tech bro.'. Another claimed: 'Looks like he left the bar and went to a podcast studio to record this. Shameful.'.

A fourth person suggested, 'the bare minimum is what it's giving,' and a fifth added: 'A quarter zip is wild disrespectful.'. Someone else commented: 'Right? And he had those same clothes on during the press conference at National Airport this am. Couldn't he have changed into a suit when he arrived in DC, to show some respect?'. American Airlines CEO Robert Isom has been slammed for the outfit he wore to film a video statement regarding Wednesday night's plane crash.

A passenger flight crashed with a military helicopter over the Potomac River in Washington, D.C. just before 9pm on Wednesday. However, others defended Isom as one person posted: 'I'm not sure I agree - this was filmed around 11pm eastern. He then got himself and AA's care team on the ground in D.C. by early morning. 'Maybe an airline windbreaker, but I think a suit would have looked weird,' they added, while someone else claimed: 'The man was just woken up give him a break.'.

Another said: 'Mass casualties and you are complaining about clothes? What color tie would have been appropriate?'. A third person argued: 'Poor guy was dragged out of wherever he was and needed to get this out. He dressed just fine for the moment.'. And a fourth said: 'Surprised there are a lot of negative comments to this video. They were probably trying to get something out as quickly as possible and worrying too much about apparel does not feel like an important use of time. I thought he said/did all the rights things here.'.

Someone else fumed: 'There's nothing "shameful" about it. This accident happened late in the evening. He rushed to a studio to try and get a statement and information out as quickly as possible. 'AA wasn't responsible for this. Critiquing his standard wardrobe choice as insensitive is troll work,' they added. Another person stated: 'Looks like he was up all night dealing with a tragedy, not drinking Diet Coke and posting on his own social media platform. Values?'.

People took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to slam the CEO's 'shameful' attire. One person described his navy blue pullover and white shirt as 'giving bare minimum'. One X user pointed out that Isom's garment was 'probably' made of cashmere. Someone else argued that he could have 'changed into a suit' for the recorded video message. A different X user posted: 'Actually I liked that he looks like he dropped everything and just spoke to people. As he should have.'.

Isom began the video by saying: 'First and most importantly, I'd like to express our deep sorrow about these events. 'This is a difficult day for all of us at American Airlines and our efforts now are entirely focused on the needs of our passengers, crew members, partners, first responders, along with their families and loved ones,' he continued. 'I know that there are many questions and at this early stage, I will not be able to answer all of them, but I do want to share the information I have at this time.'.

Isom went on to confirm that there were 60 passengers and four crew members onboard Flight 5342 from Wichita, Kansas, to the nation's Capital when the collision occurred. He said the airline is now working with local, state and federal authorities on their emergency response efforts, and American Airlines has even deployed its Care Team to 'assist our passengers and their families. 'We are cooperating fully with the National Transportation Safety Board in its investigation and will continue to provide all the information we can,' he said.

Multiple fatalities had been reported following the collision at Reagan International Airport, with emergency responders scouring the Potomac River to find and rescue any survivors. Isom said the airline is now working with local, state and federal authorities on their emergency response efforts. 'Our cooperation is without pause and we want to learn everything we can about today's events,' Isom continued.