An AirAsia flight plummeted more than 20,000 feet on Sunday, leaving some passengers and flight attendants in a panic, after the cabin lost pressurization and the pilot apparently had to take quick action.
AirAsia Flight QZ535 was flying from Perth in Australia to Bali on Sunday morning when the cabin pressure was lost and the plane suddenly dropped downward just southeast of Geraldton, Channel 7 News reported. The plane returned safely to Perth safely and the passengers switched to another plane.
CNN reported it is standard practice for pilots to descend to 10,000 feet if the cabin depressurizes, with AirAsia just saying the plane returned to Perth because of a "technical issue."
Some passengers accused the crew of heightening the panic during the descent by screaming, along with them, Channel 7 News said.
"The panic was escalated because of the behavior of staff who were screaming and looked tearful," passenger Clare Askew told Channel 7 News.
At least one passenger recorded the incident on the plane when oxygen masks were deployed.
Peter Gibson, spokesman for Civil Aviation Safety Authority, the Australian industry regulator, told The Associated Press that AirAsia had been asked for information on what happened during the flight.
AirAsia faced similar criticism of a crew in June, CNN said, when A pilot told passengers to pray after a technical issue caused the plane to shake on a flight from Malaysia to Perth.
The budget airline said the plane in Sunday’s incident was being examined to determine why the cabin pressure was lost, CNN said.
"We commend our pilots for landing the aircraft safely and complying with standard operating procedure," Capt. Ling Liong Tien, AirAsia Group's head of safety, said in the statement, reported CNN. "We are fully committed to the safety of our guests and crew and we will continue to ensure that we adhere to the highest safety standards."
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