If pushing out fast facts about aircraft is your airline’s best play at engagement on Twitter, including crash data is probably not the best approach, as Dutch airline KLM has evidently just realized.
In a since-deleted tweet, the KLM India Twitter account on Wednesday cited a 2015 analysis by TIME Magazine of seating chart and fatalities data from the Federal Aviation Administration’s CSRTG Aircraft Accident Database as a kind of fun fact for its 3,300 followers.
The tweet stated that “the fatality rate for the seats in the middle of the plane is the highest,” and that “the fatality rate for the seats in the front is marginally lesser and is least for seats at the rear third of a plane.” The tweet included a graphic that read, per the Washington Post: “Seats at the back of a plane are the safest!”
This was not—as you might imagine—especially well received, and it appears the tweet was removed the same day it was posted. The KLM India account promptly tweeted an apology Wednesday that stated the initial tweet “was based on a publically available aviation fact” and that it was not intended “to hurt anyone’s sentiments.”
KLM did not immediately return a request for further comment about the incident, but the airline’s primary account tweeted Thursday that it “will be reviewing our Twitter protocol to better ensure appropriate content.”
Remarkably, this does not appear to be the only social media faux pas KLM has faced this week. Just days earlier, the company was faced with backlash over an incident involving a passenger who claimed in a recent Facebook post she was asked to cover up while breastfeeding her 1-year-old daughter on a KLM flight.
The company responded to criticism on Twitter by remarking: “To keep the peace on board, in such cases we will try to find a solution that is acceptable to everyone and that shows respect for everyone’s comfort and personal space. This may involve a request to a mother to cover her breast.”
More evidence that absolutely any time is a good time to log off.