AirAsia boss defend crew’s actions

PETALING JAYA: AirAsia Group chief executive officer Tan Sri Tony Fernandes has taken to Twitter to defend the actions of the crew on board flight QZ535 from Perth to Denpasar.

The flight on Sunday (Oct 15) experienced technical problems that forced the aircraft to return to Perth after just 25 minutes in the air.

This happened on the same day Fernandes, 53, had married Chloe, an actress in her early 30s, at a private wedding ceremony attended by only family members, close friends, and AirAsia’s top officials.

Several US media outlets had reported that the AirAsia QZ535 flight crew had allegedly “panicked” and were “hysterical” as the plane made a rapid descent.

The flight attendants were said to have “spooked passengers” with their behaviour as passengers frantically put on their oxygen masks and braced themselves, the media reports said.

Fernandes however refuted these reports.

“It is frustrating when (the) media twists stories. Our pilots and crew did a superb job. Plane lost pressure, which happens to many aircraft,” he tweeted late Monday.

He said the crew was not screaming but telling passengers that they had to “sit down, belt up and get oxygen on” for safety reasons.

He added that the pilot, “in a controlled manner”, took the aircraft down to a safe altitude where oxygen was not needed and the aircraft landed safely.