AirAsia Press Release States Orderly Evacuation Of Passengers Of Brunei Flight But Passenger Notes Otherwise

AirAsia Flight AK278 skidded off the runway at the Bandar Seri Begawan International Airport (BWN) and the budget airline press release claimed that "evacuation of the passengers was performed in an orderly manner by the crew". A passenger of the flight posted on Facebook at the orderly manner wasn't as orderly as described by the press release.

Wrote Won Fabio,

We almost die in Air Asia plane crash in Brunei! We are in the darkness when it skidded during landing, we do not know what to do at all, no announcement, no instructions from the pilot when it crashed, we cannot see the " glow in dark" line on the floor,and i saw a long wire dropped from the compartment but none of the oxygen mask, one the Mr. flight attendant ( steward) make the whole situation worse, he shouted, Run Run Run !! yet we don't know where to run about, that was the time everyone got panic and try to escape, most of the passengers try to grab their luggage and making the escape so difficult, everyone try to push the people in front of them, making some people fell, it take too long before we can slide down from the plane and run to the field. Second incident, when we reach the bus, the bus door got stuck and we were trapped inside, and the worst part, something is burning, and everyone scream like hell once again. We manage to get out from the bus and we are all wet in the rain, now we are inside the hall, quarantined temporarily. This is so not my day !

Won Fabio also shared photos of the hasty evacuation.

AirAsia should take immediate action to look into why there was no instructions from the pilot,why the "glow in dark" line on the floor didn't glow in an emergency, and that the long wire dropped from the compartment by with no oxygen mask. Also, there should be questions about why the pilot gave no instructions and why the flight attendant told the passengers to run in the plane before the emergency slide was released. The latter could have caused more injuries especially in an emergency.

There are more questions raised than the press release itself. As a frequent flyer of AirAsia, it is important for the budget airline to conduct an investigation into these claims.