Then reporting on the issue is extremely flawed. Situations like that only serve to inflame the traveling public.
Tell me about paperwork! I resigned myself long ago to believe that paperwork is rarely correct, bogs things down, and should be used for nothing but the wiping of one's fanny.
Aside from that, it's all still a mess and if you believe I was incorrect, just imagine a few thousand passengers all with mis-information and self-formed ideas about what is going on because an AA spokesman walks off camera the split second the issue of safety is mentioned. I can just imagine what that type of behavior makes passengers think. I know I didn't think it was none too swift! It certainly doesn't bode well for the future of butts in seats at American Airlines!
Again, the ripple effect is far reaching.