The pilot sounded calm, but was heard telling passengers he was scared too.
Passengers aboard a flight headed to Malaysia from Australia experienced such a bumpy ride that the veteran pilot reportedly asked them to pray.
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"Our survival depends on your [cooperation],” the pilot of the AirAsia X flight from Perth, Australia, to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, told his passengers Sunday morning.
For 90 minutes, fliers endured a ride that was "like being in a washing machine,” one passenger said.
The nightmare reportedly began after a "bang" was heard from one of the two engines.
The heroic pilot sounded calm as he turned the jet around to return to Perth and struggled to get back to the airport.
“Hopefully, everything will turn out for the best,” he reportedly said.
One of the 359 passengers was quoted as saying, "The pilot asked us to pray twice and said he was scared too."
The pilot, who has not been named, has reportedly been flying for 44 years.
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CBS travel editor Peter Greenberg spoke to Inside Edition about the incident. Greenberg was not on the flight.
"For the pilot to say, 'pray,' he is probably reinforcing what they are already doing,” he said. “The pilot reacted to it quickly, got them down. Landing was safe, so, things need to be put into proper perspective."
The passengers were later transferred to other flights when their plane landed safely back in Perth.
An investigation into what happened to the engine is currently underway.
