AirAsia is once again facing intense criticism from passengers over its flight crew's questionable handling of an emergency situation.According to CNN, staff aboard a flight from Australia to Bali incited panic following a cabin pressurization issue Sunday.Data from flight-tracking website FlightRadar24 shows that the plane plunged more than 23,000 feet in nine minutes, descending to an altitude of 10,000 feet where cabins are pressurized.After arriving back at Perth Airport, passengers described a chaotic scene."The panic was escalated because of the behavior of staff who were screaming, looked tearful and shocked," passenger Clare Askew told Seven News Australia. "Now, I get it, but we looked to them for reassurance and we didn't get any, we were more worried because of how panicked they were."Passengers said crew members instructed them to take crash positions before going silent for several minutes. Oxygen masks were also deployed during the rapid descent."Hostesses started screaming: 'Emergency, emergency.' They just went hysterical," said Mark Bailey. "There was no real panic before that, then everyone panicked."[embedded content]AirAsia confirmed the flight turned back to Perth after encountering a technical issue but didn't comment on the alleged flight crew behavior."We commend our pilots for landing the aircraft safely and complying with standard operating procedure," AirAsia Group's head of safety, Capt. Ling Liong Tien said in the statement. "We are fully committed to the safety of our guests and crew and we will continue to ensure that we adhere to the highest safety standards."READ MORE: WATCH: AirAsia Flight Skids Off Runway at Malaysian AirportThe Australian Transport Safety Bureau is investigating the incident, which comes just months after an AirAsia pilot allegedly told passengers to pray multiple times during a flight from Perth to Malaysia that experienced an engine issue. In December 2014, an AirAsia flight from Indonesia to Singapore crashed into the Java Sea, killing all 162 people on board.Earlier this year, the Malaysian carrier became the first low-cost Asian airline to receive approval to operate flights to the U.S.Follow @_Pat_Clarke