Section of cabin panel dislodges on AirAsia plane from S'pore to KL, no injuries reported

Passengers on board an AirAsia flight on Apr. 4 were stunned when a section of the overhead cabin panel suddenly dislodged after landing.

The flight AK720 had departed Singapore and arrived in Kuala Lumpur at around 10:22pm.

In response to Mothership's queries, the general manager of AirAsia Malaysia, Fareh Mazputra, said that a section hose from a cabin panel became loose and dislodged just as the aircraft was making a landing.

There were no reported injuries to the passengers and crew.

A strange noise was heard

In a photo that a passenger, surnamed Chen (transliterated), shared with Shin Min Daily News, the large panel section can be seen suspended by some wires, against the headrest of a seat.

Some of its parts had also fallen onto the seats, according to Chen.

Fortunately, no one was sitting in these rows of seats, so no one was hurt, he said.

Chen said that the plane had landed normally, but there was a strange noise shortly after.

He looked up at the rows ahead of him and saw that a section of the overhead panel had become detached.

"It's normal for the wheels to vibrate when they hit the ground, and it was not particularly severe this time," he recalled.

"I didn't expect [the panel] to fall off like that. It was very loud when the plane was landing, so that sound [of the panel falling] wasn't very obvious."

The plane later came to a stop as normal, and all the passengers disembarked without incident.

Shock and laughter

While many passengers reacted in shock, some laughed out loud in disbelief.

"A few foreigners sitting in front of me burst into laughter," Chen said. "They probably wondered how such a thing could have happened."

Although no one was injured, the incident nevertheless made Chen concerned about flight safety and the importance of regular inspections, especially if a child was in the way.

Plane had undergone inspections

Fareh said that before departing from Singapore, the aircraft had undergone all required maintenance checks, including routine 36-hour inspections that involved visual and physical assessments.

Following the incident, AirAsia’s engineering team conducted a thorough inspection to ensure the panels are safe and fully secured.

"Our cabin crew responded swiftly and in accordance with established safety procedures upon the incident being reported, ensuring the guests seated on the seats beneath the panel were promptly attended to and comfortably relocated," Fareh added.

The airline also apologised for any inconvenience caused, and thanked passengers for their understanding.

Top images from Shin Min and AirAsia's website