An AirAsia flight over the weekend plunged 24,000 feet, causing some of the crew to panic, which upset passengers, over what was later determined to be a technical issue, according to CNN.
The plane dropped 24,000 feet in less than 20 minutes, CNN reported, causing an immediate scare among those on board.
Witnesses said the aircrafts crew called for everyone to settle into emergency crash positions 25 minutes into the flight, which was on its way to Bali from Perth, Australia.
Videos from the incident show the cabin of AirAsia Flight QZ535 deploying oxygen masks.
People aboard the plane said the flight crew panicked during the incident, calling for people to get down as they "were screaming, looked tearful and shocked, passenger Clare Askew told reporters, according to NBC News.
Now, I get it, but we looked to them for reassurance and we didnt get any; we were more worried because of how panicked they were, Askew said.
A passenger named Leah told the Australian news network Nine that all the passengers were all pretty much saying goodbye to each other. It was really upsetting.
Leah also said, I actually picked up my phone and sent a text message to my family, just hoping that they would get it.
Another passenger said she didnt understand English, which heightened her worries, according to The Times of India.
"We didn't know what was happening because all the voice recordings on the plane were in every language but English," she said.
The planes quick drop was related to depressurization, so it descended from 34,000 feet to 10,000 feet to deal with the issue.
As Time magazine reported, in the event of cabin depressurization it is common practice for pilots to descend to that altitude.
The airline later said in a statement that the plane, which had 151 passengers on board, turned around because of the technical issue.
We commend our pilots for landing the aircraft safely and complying with standard operating procedure, AirAsia Group head of safety Capt. Ling Liong Tien said, according to NBC News. 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."
An AirAsia pilot made headlines earlier this summer after he asked people on board to pray after a technical issue caused the plane to shake, Fox News reported.
The plane dropped 24,000 feet in less than 20 minutes, CNN reported, causing an immediate scare among those on board.
Witnesses said the aircrafts crew called for everyone to settle into emergency crash positions 25 minutes into the flight, which was on its way to Bali from Perth, Australia.
Videos from the incident show the cabin of AirAsia Flight QZ535 deploying oxygen masks.
People aboard the plane said the flight crew panicked during the incident, calling for people to get down as they "were screaming, looked tearful and shocked, passenger Clare Askew told reporters, according to NBC News.
Now, I get it, but we looked to them for reassurance and we didnt get any; we were more worried because of how panicked they were, Askew said.
A passenger named Leah told the Australian news network Nine that all the passengers were all pretty much saying goodbye to each other. It was really upsetting.
Leah also said, I actually picked up my phone and sent a text message to my family, just hoping that they would get it.
Another passenger said she didnt understand English, which heightened her worries, according to The Times of India.
"We didn't know what was happening because all the voice recordings on the plane were in every language but English," she said.
The planes quick drop was related to depressurization, so it descended from 34,000 feet to 10,000 feet to deal with the issue.
As Time magazine reported, in the event of cabin depressurization it is common practice for pilots to descend to that altitude.
The airline later said in a statement that the plane, which had 151 passengers on board, turned around because of the technical issue.
We commend our pilots for landing the aircraft safely and complying with standard operating procedure, AirAsia Group head of safety Capt. Ling Liong Tien said, according to NBC News. 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."
An AirAsia pilot made headlines earlier this summer after he asked people on board to pray after a technical issue caused the plane to shake, Fox News reported.
