Cabin staff scream as AirAsia flight plunges 22,000 feet

The Cabin crew of a Bali-bound AirAsia flight have been accused of “screaming and panicking” instead of reassuring passengers when the plane rapidly descended about 22,000 feet in a matter of minutes. A technical glitch apparently led to the depressurisation of the cabin on flight QZ535. It forced the pilots to take the plane to 10,000 feet — a routine practice in the event of cabin depressurisation, reports CNN. The sudden plummet triggered panic on board the Airbus A320, carrying 151 people from Perth. A video, circulating online, shows passengers wearing oxygen masks and cabin crew telling them to “get down” and take a safety position, AFP reported.

An aviation expert says AirAsia should not be allowed to fly in and out of Australia until it meets safety standards. @DamoNews #9News pic.twitter.com/q7MTxylzRt

— Nine News Australia (@9NewsAUS) 16 octobre 2017

Such alerts are routine custom of flight crews to make sure the safety of the passengers during an emergency. However, the passengers claimed that the behaviour of the cabin crew escalated panic instead. One passenger Clare Askew told CNN affiliated Seven News Australia that some of the crew were “screaming and looked tearful and shocked”. She said the passengers were more worried because of how the cabin crew were panicked. Video showed oxygen masks deployed aboard AirAsia Flight QZ535, as a member of the cabin crew shouted "passengers, get down, passengers, get down." Such instructions are in line with routine flight crew practice when seeking to quickly secure passenger safety. Another passenger Mark Bailey said that everyone panicked after seeing the cabin crew going hysterical, adding that nobody was much panicked before that. The flight turned around and safely landed at Preth within 25 minutes of its take off at 11:35pm on Sunday, CNN reported. Another passenger, Leah, told Channel Nine television that she had picked up his phone an sent a text message to his family, fearing that he could die. AirAsia apologised for the incident on Sunday’s Perth to Bali flight. It blamed a “technical issue” without elaborating. "The safety of passengers and crew is our priority," the budget airline said in a statement, AFP adds. "AirAsia apologises to passengers for any inconvenience caused."