Indonesia AirAsia 'technical issue', PER-DPS

[Glider_]

Terrifying mid-air emergency on Perth to Bali flight

Terrified passengers on an AirAsia flight to Bali say they feared for their life after the aircraft plunged 20,000 feet in a mid-air emergency.

The plane dropped from 32,000 feet to 10,000 feet after a ‘technical issue’ on the flight, an hour out from Perth this afternoon.

Oxygen masks dropped from above the seats and passengers have criticised staff on board the flight, who they say only made matters worse.

Clare Askew was among the 145 passengers on board flight QZ535 and she said the reaction of the airlines crew made the ordeal all the more frightening.

“The panic was escalated because of the behaviour of staff who were screaming, looked tearful and shocked,” she said.

“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.”

The flight took off from Perth - Bali bound at 11.15am this morning.

But an hour into the flight, just south east of Geraldton, it lost cabin pressure and returned to Perth.

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

 

[Glider_]

AirAsia flight from Perth to Bali turned around after mid-air emergency

An Indonesia AirAsia flight travelling from Perth to Denpasar with 151 passengers on board was turned back on Sunday morning after a mid-air emergency.

Flight QZ 535 was 25 minutes out of Perth when an indicator alerted the pilot to a loss of cabin pressure.

The pilot made the decision to turn back and emergency services were placed on standby at Perth Airport.

Video from passengers on board showed oxygen masks drop from the ceiling and passengers being told to brace.

The aircraft landed safely at 12:40pm and there were no injuries to passengers.

The flight was cancelled and passengers were re-booked on later flights to Denpasar.

Passengers told Channel Nine they had sent text messages to loved ones fearing they were going to die.

Engineers are tonight examining the aircraft.

 

[Daver6]

So people paid for the very cheapest of options on dodgy brother airlines and then are surprised when service is less than professional. Where's the face palm emoji when you really need it?

 

[Glider_]

So people paid for the very cheapest of options on dodgy brother airlines and then are surprised when service is less than professional. Where's the face palm emoji when you really need it?

These continued issues with AirAsia are extremely concerning, especially because Perth has relatively poor choice of carriers. But nobody buys a plane ticket expecting that because they paid less they should say 'fair enough' when it falls out of the sky...

 

[Captain Halliday]

Ah, the dreaded "plunge". I'll say it to save JB the trouble: FL340 to 10,000ft in 11 minutes is not a plunge. It's a rapid descent. Much faster than most pax would be used to, yes. Perhaps even uncomfortable. But it's not a plunge.

 

[Glider_]

Ah, the dreaded "plunge". I'll say it to save JB the trouble: FL340 to 10,000ft in 11 minutes is not a plunge. It's a rapid descent. Much faster than most pax would be used to, yes. Perhaps even uncomfortable. But it's not a plunge.

I've asked mods to change the thread title so it's not misleading as more information comes to light.

 

[Strategic Aviation]

It's a rapid descent.

Should also add that it was both deliberate and necessary.

 

[Glider_]

'My life flashed in front of me'

AIRASIA passengers have criticised the airline for what they claim was a chaotic response to a midair scare that forced them to return to Perth Airport.

Flight QZ535 was 25 minutes into its journey to Bali when cabin crew announced there was an emergency and oxygen masks dropped from overhead compartments.

The aircraft began a dramatic descent from its cruising altitude, with passengers claiming they were told there had been a loss in cabin pressure.

Passengers claimed attendants added to the panic.
Merv Loy and his family were passengers on Air Asia flight 535 that had to return to Perth due to a loss in cabin pressure.

Merv Loy said the only instructions they received in English were to put their seatbelts on and “Brace”.

“We didn’t understand a word they were saying. It was pretty scary,” he said.

Glenyce Regan started praying as the woman next to her scribbled in a notepad through tears.

“I could feel (the loss of pressure) from breathing because I’ve not long ago had a heart operation,” Ms Regan said. “Then the masks dropped and it frightened the s... out of me.

“It (the 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.”

Mark Bailey said some on the plane assumed the worst because of the crew’s “hysterical” reaction.

One woman said she thought they were about to “crash-land in a paddock”.

Passengers rushed to put on lifejackets despite the lack of water below them.

“(The attendants) were screaming their heads off,” Mr Bailey said. “We lost cabin pressure.

Degi Chimedlkham, who was on the flight with her elderly mother, also criticised the crew’s handling of the emergency.

Her mother thought there was a terrorist on the plane.

“Who are the people supposed to be taking care of us? The flight attendants, right? They scared us most,” Ms Chimedlkham said.

Danielle Wilkie was hugging her daughter, Katie Macguire, 13, who had complained of ear pain and shortness of breath just before the commotion.

“I had my daughter cradled, saying ‘I love you. I love you’,” Ms Wilkie said.

An AirAsia spokesman said the plane had to return to Perth because of a technical issue which was being investigated.

The scare comes four months after another AirAsia flight was forced to return to Perth because of an engine failure.

During that incident the pilot urged passengers to say a prayer.

 

[Deleted member]

I must say, I’m surprised that the pax reported that the flight crew (all of them ?) were in a state of panic.
That is not exactly a ringing endorsement of Air Asia.

 

[Mattg]

Indonesia Air Asia flight QZ535 returned to Perth yesterday afternoon after the plane suffered a loss of cabin pressure. Looks like the pilots did exactly what they were supposed to do - lowering the plane to a breathable altitude and diverting to the nearest airport (back to PER).

I have to say, I find the reporting of this in the mainstream Australian media to be appalling and sensationalist.

For example, have a look at the SMH article linked below. Lots of quotes from passengers who "thought they would die", but no mention of the fact that descending quickly is the correct response to a loss of cabin pressure. Instead, the author makes it seem like the pilots had lost control, writing "A technical problem caused the aircraft to plunge from 32,000 feet to 10,000 feet without warning." The fact that the plane landed safely is almost glossed over.

Passengers on a Bali-bound AirAsia flight say they were left terrified after their plane suddenly lost cabin pressure and dropped 20,000 feet shortly after take off.

The plane took off from Perth bound for Bali, and and hour into the flight it dropped two-thirds of its altitude.
The flight from Perth to Bali with 145 people on board was forced to turn back only 25 minutes after take-off on Sunday morning.

Flight QZ535 passengers described how they were ordered to adopt the brace position and use their oxygen masks, with some saying they thought they would die during the ordeal.

'We were all pretty much saying goodbye': AirAsia plane plunges 20,000 feet

The Aviation Herald has a more balanced version of events: Incident: Indonesia AirAsia A320 near Perth on Oct 15th 2017, loss of cabin pressure

 

[Princess Fiona]

They were on my no fly list before this incident and there they shall remain.....

 

[Daver6]

These continued issues with AirAsia are extremely concerning, especially because Perth has relatively poor choice of carriers. But nobody buys a plane ticket expecting that because they paid less they should say 'fair enough' when it falls out of the sky...

Agree. However, my point was more about the level of service and professionalism of the crew.

However, the falling out the sky bit; you surely should be less surprised when it happens with an airline that has an atrocious safety record.

 

[samh004]

I've asked mods to change the thread title so it's not misleading as more information comes to light.

In the future, reporting the post will deliver a quicker response.

 

[Glider_]

In the future, reporting the post will deliver a quicker response.

Thanks, I looked for that but didn't see anything to report the thread itself or change the title. I can see that button on individual posts now, ta.

 

[samh004]

Thanks, I looked for that but didn't see anything to report the thread itself or change the title. I can see that button on individual posts now, ta.

If it's a post issue, report the post; if it's a thread issue, report any post. Just remember to be clear in the reason as sometimes we aren't as clued in

 

[drron]

Now I am never going to be flying Air Asia again,once was enough,but the coughpit crew seemed to have responded appropriately to the problem and that is the most important part.
It seems the problems are-Air Asia's safety record and whether that is responsible for the incident.
Second the reaction of the cabin crew.Some of it though was to be expected.I think most people faced with an emergency would tend to revert to their primary language so this is to be expected-
“It (the advice) was all in Asian or Thai or something. We couldn’t understand anything that was coming over the loudspeaker."
But the important parts were in English-
"Merv Loy said the only instructions they received in English were to put their seatbelts on and “Brace”."
No passengers were injured.

So the reasons for not flying them remain the same-Safety record and cabin crew,ground staff seemingly not well trained.

 

[mannej]

I am taking the reports on brekky TV with a grain of salt. It is not unusual for these reports to be sensationalist, but it is important to bear in mind the urgency of the situation here.
I would have thought that if the oxygen masks popped down, it would be self explanatory what the required action is, but the footage is of passengers without masks on etc. I would wait until more is known before passing full comment on how the crew handled the situation. One thing I will say is how the media reported the situation of the loss of cabin pressure causing the plane to drop (i.e no crew inputs), whereas it was the crew who descended the plane down to 10,000 feet due to the loss of pressure.

Have flown D7 before, but in no hurry to fly them anytime soon.

 

[Denali]

People putting inflatable life jackets on and they were over land and throwing the rosary beads around their necks - sounds like a comedy where the pax's are the entertainment.

Im sure at the time it was very, very scary but now knowing 100% of crew and pax are OK, I also would have liked to have seen the cabin footage.

 

[AviatorInsight]

This kind of sensationalist journalism really makes my blood boil. Of course it’s to make headlines, but my issue is when they try to use words like “dramatic descent” and “plunge” to make it sound worse than it actually was. Not to mention the totally untrue statements of “descended without warning”.

A B737 for example has only 12mins of oxygen for passengers. Why? Because that’s how long it takes to get from max cruising altitude (41,000ft) to 10,000ft. The rate of descent to achieve that? A measly 2500fpm. You wouldn’t even notice that rate of descent in the cabin and that 12mins takes forever in the simulator. What you would notice is, if in a real loss of cabin pressure your ears might start to hurt in the descent. In an explosive decompression, this is when things would definitely start to get “dramatic”.

Just yesterday we got given a high speed descent into Sydney. This was done with an average rate of descent of 3700fpm and guess what, not one call from the cabin about people saying we were descending too quickly.

Interesting to note that oxygen is no longer a priority, and that taking selfies is more important.

 

[Quickstatus]

I would rather breath than suffocate.
To be fair I don't like roller coaster rides and would have freaked out myself.
But journalists dont do journalism anymore because the sensational sells.

The other thing I dont understand is why airlines apologise for events like this?