Air Asia Plane Shakes Like ‘Washing Machine’ Mid-Air Due To Engine Issues, Pilot To Passengers: ‘Say A Prayer’

A terrifying footage has emerged of an AirAsia plane shaking like a “washing machine” mid-air after it reportedly experienced engine issues and was forced to turn back 90 minutes after takeoff.

On Sunday, AirAsia X Flight D7237 was forced to make a mid-air turn back after what may have been an engine failure. The Malaysia-bound flight with 359 people on board had to return to Perth Airport after it began shaking violently. The flight landed safely around 10:00 a.m.

Passengers on board the AirAsia X flight reported hearing a loud explosion in the left engine before the plane started to shudder. Brenton Atkinson, one of the passengers on the flight, told ABC that the plane was literally shaking like a washing machine.

“It was literally like you were sitting on top of a washing machine. The whole thing was going. We could see the engine out the window which was really shaken on the wing.”

Another passenger, Damien Stevens, backed up the claims, adding that the plane was shaking through their entire trip back to Perth Airport.

“We were asleep and heard a loud bang around the 1-hour-and-15-minute mark. It shook for the whole ride back, close on two hours.”

Passengers also claimed that when the plane landed, one of the blades had actually come off the turbine.

In a video uploaded on Instagram, the AirAsia plane seats can be seen trembling quickly back and forth while horrified passengers remained seated with seatbelts on.

Shortly after the explosion, the cabin crew reportedly appeared startled. A passenger also revealed that the pilot even told them to say a prayer amid the scary situation.

“He (flight captain) said ‘I hope you all say a prayer, I will be saying a prayer too and let’s hope we all get back home safely.'”

Passengers of the AirAsia flight were quick to applaud the crew members, particularly the pilot for handling the horrifying incident professionally. According to reports, despite the scary situation, none of the staff was freaking out.

Reports also revealed that after the pilot landed the plane safely, he took the time to shake hands with everyone on the plane.

In a statement released by AirAsia, they reiterated that the safety of passengers is their utmost priority at all times.

Although many admired AirAsia’s crew for handling the scary ordeal, some were not pleased after they got stranded at Perth Airport. According to reports, the airline managed to settle a special replacement flight to Kuala Lumpur and was scheduled to leave about 8:30 p.m. However, passengers had to wait for over two hours before departing at 11:40 p.m.

There were also complaints of long waiting for staff to assist with temporary accommodation. Some passengers who missed their connecting flights also complained about the staff’s lack of coordination.

A spokesperson from the Australian Transport Safety Bureau confirmed to ABC that they will be conducting an investigation about the incident. The bureau revealed that they have received reports that one of the plane’s engines shut down mid-flight.

In addition, the bureau had already requested to have access to the plane’s flight data recorders. Meanwhile, AirAsia is currently conducting their own assessment to the affected aircraft.

[Featured Image by Oscar Siagian/Getty Images]