An AirAsia X flight with 359 passengers on board, from Australia to Malaysia was forced to turn back 90 minutes after takeoff when it experienced a problem with the engine and began shaking like a “washing machine.”
One of the two Rolls-Royce engines had failed, and the crew decided to return to Perth – with the aircraft shaking for the entire journey.
One passenger, Damien Stevens, told CNN: “It shook for the whole ride back, close on two hours.” He said that the pilot asked passengers to pray – twice – and that they were instructed to hold the brace position during landing. The pilot then shook hands with every passenger after landing safely.
Emergency services were put on standby for a possible water landing but the measures were only precautionary.
“I was crying a lot, a lot of people were crying, trying to call their mums and stuff but we couldn’t really do anything just wait and trust the captain,” passenger Sophie Nicolas told ABC. “He delivered us home safely which is amazing, everybody burst into applause when we landed,” she said.
