‘My life flashed in front of me’: Terrified AirAsia passengers speak out
Air Asia has been hit with several scandals through 2017. Photo: AAP
Terrified passengers said they thought they would die after an AirAsia flight from Perth to Bali plunged more than 20,000 feet shortly after taking off.
Just 25 minutes after the plane left Perth on Sunday morning, emergency struck on AirAsia Indonesia flight QZ535 due to a technical problem, which saw the plane lose cabin pressure and plummet without any warning.
Only adding to the sense of fear among passengers, who described the scene as “really upsetting”, was the panicked behaviour of crew staff who were screaming and in tears.
“I actually picked up my phone and sent a text message to my family, just hoping that they would get it,” Perth woman Leah told the Nine Network.
“We were all pretty much saying goodbye to each other. It was really upsetting.
“The masks fell down and everybody started panicking. Nobody told us what was going on.”
Glenyce Regan told The West Australian she started to pray as the flight dropped.
“I could feel [the loss of pressure] from breathing because I’ve not long ago had a heart operation,” she said.
“Then the masks dropped and it frightened the s––t out of me.
“It [advice] was all in Asian or Thai or something. We couldn’t understand anything that was coming over the loudspeaker.
“I instantly grabbed my rosary beads and put them around my neck.
“I thought we were gone. I really, really thought we were gone. My life flashed in front of me.”
Watch video from inside the flight here
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uQBRh30WNq4
Another passenger, Tracy, who was travelling with her son, added: “My son said he didn’t want to get on another flight, but I’ve assured him it can’t happen twice in a row.
“It’s really put me off flying. I fly every year on AirAsia.”
The plane landed safely at Perth Airport, after turning around and aborting the flight.
Clare Askew, also on board, said the crew only inflamed the sense of fear.
“The panic was escalated because of the behaviour of staff who were screaming, looked tearful and shocked,” she told Perth Now.
“Now, I get it, but we looked to them for reassurance and we didn’t get any.
“We were more worried because of how panicked they were.”
Other passengers criticised the “hysterical” crew, while The West Australian said a passenger thought a terrorist was on the plane.
The airline said they were examining the plane apologised for “any inconvenience caused” in a brief statement.
It is the latest incident for AirAsia which was hit by another drama on a Perth flight earlier this year.
Passengers on a June flight from Perth to Kuala Lumpur were told to “say a prayer” after an engine issue caused the flight to shake like a “washing machine”.
