ladbible logo

To make sure you never miss out on your favourite NEW stories, we're happy to send you some reminders

Click 'OK' then 'Allow' to enable notifications

AirAsia Flight Plunged 20,000 Feet And Told Passengers To Brace

AirAsia Flight Plunged 20,000 Feet And Told Passengers To Brace

Those on board were scared and say staff were panicked.

Mark McGowan

Mark McGowan

People will often tell you that flying is statistically the safest form of transport but it's really hard to think about that sometimes when the ground feels like a million miles away.

Those fears escalate when turbulence hits the aircraft. From your seats, you can't really know if the pilots have everything under control.

It's one of the main things with flying; remember your passport, remember you boarding card and remember to be a shaky mess while on board.

For passengers on a recent AirAsia flight, those fears became justified as the aircraft reportedly plunged 20,00 feet mid-flight and the plane had to alter its route. Take a look at the video.

Credit: 7 News

Flying from Australia to Indonesia, the plane had to change its course after 25 minutes due to a 'technical issue' and a loss of cabin pressure.

One-hundred-and-fifty-one people were on board the plane, which eventually landed safely at Perth Airport, although the majority feared the worst.

"We were all pretty much saying goodbye to each other. It was really upsetting," one passenger told the local Nine network.

Passengers were reportedly told to get into the brace position as flight QZ535 plummeted from 32,000 feet to around 10,000 feet and oxygen masks could be seen hanging from the ceiling around the passengers.

In a statement, AirAsia said: "The safety of our guests is our utmost priority. AirAsia Indonesia apologises for any inconvenience caused."

Distressing videos show those on the Airbus A320 crying and holding their loved ones as it descended.

Claire Askew, who was on the flight, said that people's fears weren't helped at all by the fact that airline staff were also screaming, shouting instructions to the passengers and apparently in tears.

"The panic was escalated because of the behaviour of staff," she told 7 News. "They were screaming, looked tearful and shocked.

"I get it, but we look to them for reassurance, but we didn't get any. We were more worried because of how panicked they were."

A clip from someone in the cabin shows a member of staff shouting, 'passengers get down, passengers get down' while they look towards her for advice.

Engineers are reportedly attempting to find out what caused the incident.

Featured Image Credit: PA

Topics: World News, travel