For example, the Guardian says,

…the decision to remain hidden from public view since the accident may have been his biggest public relations mistake – and, perhaps most humiliatingly for such a proud man, it has become a running joke.

So what should he have done? Well, the basics of dealing with various kinds of disaster are fairly clear cut:

1. Communicate: Admit there is problem
2. Communicate: Apologize
3. Communicate: Say what you are going to do about it
4. Do it
5. Communicate: Say what you did

The key thing is to be open. A classic case study is Johnson & Johnson whose product Tylenol was tampered with. A good summary is provided on Mallen Baker’s website. As he concludes:

The features that made Johnson & Johnson’s handling of the crisis a success included the following:

• They acted quickly, with complete openness about what had happened, and immediately sought to remove any source of danger based on the worst case scenario – not waiting for evidence to see whether the contamination might be more widespread
• Having acted quickly, they then sought to ensure that measures were taken which would prevent as far as possible a recurrence of the problem
• They showed themselves to be prepared to bear the short term cost in the name of consumer safety. That more than anything else established a basis for trust with their customers