Teen passenger defends AirAsia X pilot

He is the reason I am still alive and I cannot thank him enough, Australian girl says

PETALING JAYA: A teenage passenger says the pilot of the AirAsia X Flight D7237 urging the passengers to pray was said in a way that was comforting to her and others.

According to Madeline Wright, the pilot and the low-cost carrier should not be blamed for the incident. The 15-year-old Australian passenger shared her firsthand account in a Facebook post.

“The pilot has done his best to keep all 359 people on board safe and calm during the incident and its aftermath.

“It disgusts me that people are criticising our captain for telling us to pray and are trying to get him fired,” Wright wrote on Tuesday.

“The full context was ‘Everything is under control in the cockpit. If you want to say a prayer, that might help too’,” she said in coming to the defence of the pilot and the airline against critics.

The flight bound for Kuala Lumpur from Perth was forced to turn back after the Airbus A330 encountered “technical difficulties”.

According to reports, the aircraft was shaking like a “washing machine” during the twohour flight back to the Perth Airport.

The aircraft landed safely at 10am on Sunday and all passengers were transferred to the next available flight or to the recovery flight at 11.40pm on the same day.

Wright, who was on a family holiday to Vietnam, stressed that the pilot made them feel safe and supplied them with sufficient information.

“He was a reassuring voice during this event and gave us hope, he is the reason I am still alive and I cannot thank him enough,” she said.

Wright also hit back at critics laying blame of the incident on AirAsia’s low fare, saying that unexpected technical difficulties could happen to any airline.

“The fact that we and other passengers paid less for a flight is not the reason for this plane’s accident ... We didn’t pay less for a technical problem, we paid less for no electronic devices, no meals and less leg room,” she said.

Wright said after the plane successfully landed at the Perth Airport, the passengers were tolerant and patient during the threehour wait as the airline did its best to make them feel comfortable with vouchers for food and water. She said during the wait, they were given the choice of full refunds of tickets, a rescheduled flight or to wait at the airport for a later flight.

When contacted, Wright told The Star that she felt a need to voice her story as many people were telling the passengers to never fly with the “dodgy” airline and were also accusing the captain of wrongdoing.

“This was wrong of them and I wanted to speak out about this problem ... at least give people a personal perspective,” she said.

She admitted that she was scared when the plane started shaking.

“Once passengers were aware of what was happening, everyone was fairly calm.

“The only thoughts we had was how we were going to land,” she said, adding that the captain “made an amazing landing and everyone survived”.

Her father Andy Wright, 45, described the incident as “unfortunate” and was quickly controlled by a competent pilot who showed professional detachment and human concern.

In a statement issued on Monday, AirAsia X said an investigation was being conducted with the engine manufacturer Rolls-Royce to find out the cause.

It added that it was also cooperating fully with the local aviation authorities.