‘ Judgment call by pilot’
> Asking passengers to pray may reassure some but may cause anxiety to the majority, says expert
PETALING JAYA: The issue of an AirAsia X pilot asking passengers to pray after an Airbus A330-300 suffered engine problems during its flight from Perth to Kuala Lumpur on Sunday is a judgment call, said aviation sources.
An expert said it is the duty of the pilot to keep the passengers calm when an aircraft is experiencing problems.
“But to ask passengers to say a prayer, it may end up scaring the passengers because they may assume that the captain is not able to control the plane.
“Asking for ‘divine intervention’ when the flight is facing some kind of trouble is not very reassuring,” he said.
He pointed out that there would have been nothing wrong in saying that the plane was facing technical issues and that everything was under control.
The expert said this type of judgment call, asking for passengers to pray may reassure some but the majority will get extremely worried.
He added that they would have more confidence if the pilot kept reassuring them that everything was under control.
Another industry expert said it was a Catch-22 situation and whether the pilot made the right call to ask the passengers to pray depends on how each individual felt.
“Some may have been reassured whilst others may have got extremely worried,” he said.
The AirAsia X flight D7237 for Kuala Lumpur with 359 passengers on board landed back at Perth Airport after the plane faced issues with one of its engines.
Meanwhile, a passenger, Madeline Wright, said on a Facebook posting: “It disgusts me that people are criticising our captain for telling us to pray and are trying to get him fired. He was professional. He was human. His reassuring voice during this event gave us hope. He is the reason I am still alive and I cannot thank him enough.”
Another passenger, Damien Stevens, theSun told CNN that the pilot advised passengers to pray twice and told them to hold the “brace position” for two minutes before landing.
He said once the plane landed safely, the passengers applauded the pilot, who later shook hands with each of them.
The Sydney Morning Herald reported a 23-year-old passenger, Emily from Brisbane, as saying how during meal time a “huge, massive” bang shook the aircraft and it started “shaking furiously”.
Meanwhile, the Australian Safety and Transport Bureau said it could take up to five months for it to complete their investigation into the incident.
SEE ALSO