Only an hour into the AirAsia flight, the aircraft dropped 20,000ft after losing cabin pressure. The flight recovered before turning back to Perth. / 7 NEWS
A British lawyer proposed to his girlfriend during a midair emergency, as their flight to Bali lost pressure and began plummeting to the ground.
Chris Jeanes, 27, was aboard an Air Asia flight from Perth, Australia, when staff began shouting "emergency, brace, crash positions" 25 minutes after take off.
Ina moment of panic as oxygen masks dropped from the over-head panels, the lawyer popped the question to his partner, 28-year-old Australian Casey Kinchella, the Telegraph UK reports.
The Air Asia flight last Sunday is understood to have fallen over 20,000ft in a matter of minutes due to a technical fault and the crew were forced to turn the plane back to "ensure the safety of passengers".
Chris Jeanes proposed to his girlfriend Casey Kinchella as plane was plummeting. Photo / Facebook
Mr Jeanes, from London, told NBC News: "Luckily she said yes, we both reconfirmed with each other when we were on the ground."
The lawyer at American firm O'Melveny and Myers had planned to propose to his girlfriend on the Indonesian volcanic tropical island.
Others on the flight said terrified passengers were in tears and in hysterics as cabin staff ran down the aisle shouting commands in Thai, The West Australian reported.
Merv Loy told the paper: "We didn't understand a word they were saying."
Glenyce Regan, who began praying during the horrific ordeal, said: "I could feel the loss of pressure from breathing because I've not long ago had a heart operation.
The oxygen masks came down during the flight. Photo / Seven News
"Then the masks dropped and it frightened me.
"The advice was all in Asian or Thai or something, we couldn't understand anything that was coming over the loudspeaker.
"I instantly grabbed my rosary beads and put them around my neck.
"I thought we were gone. I really thought we were gone, my life flashed in front of me."
The flight landed back in Perth safely and all 145 passengers had their journeys rescheduled.
In a statement Air Asia said: "The safety of our guests is our utmost priority.
"Air Asia Indonesia apologises for any inconvenience caused."
The scare came just four months after another Air Asia flight was reportedly forced to return to Perth following an engine failure.
