In a crisis, time is not on your side. A crisis creates a vacuum, an informational void that gets filled one way or another. The longer a company or other organization at the center of the crisis waits to communicate, the more likely that void will be filled by critics.

That’s exactly what’s happening to Boeing.

On March 10, 2019, Ethiopian Airlines flight ET302 crashed outside Addis Ababa shortly after takeoff, killing all 157 passengers on board. This was the second Boeing 737 Max to crash in fewer than four months, putting the total death toll at almost 350 people.

I’ve been both a manager and teacher of crisis communications for more than a decade. One thing I know for sure is that in crises in which there’s loss of life, it’s important to be compassionate, empathetic, and careful.

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