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She asked viewers not to be “so quick to judge”.
January 15, 2026, 11:57 AM
A TikToker who was widely criticised for filming herself having a panic attack on a flight has come forward to explain that a traumatic experience on a previous flight shaped her reaction.
She said that she was on the 2024 SQ321 flight that encountered extreme turbulence that left one passenger dead and many injured.
The lady, who goes by @_youmia on TikTok, first went viral after a video she posted on Jan. 13 of her panic attack drew flak for seeming staged and dramatic.
The video amassed over five million views at the time of writing and has over 6,900 comments.
Original video
Mia, a Korean living in Singapore, recorded a vlog of her flight, from enjoying her meals to growing anxious as turbulence hit.
What caught viewers’ attention was her scream at one point in the video as the plane experienced turbulence.
Screenshot from _youmia/TikTok
Many made fun of her for filming herself during the panic attack, calling it a “performative panic attack”.
They noted that she appeared to glance at her camera before she screamed, and accused her of faking the episode.
Others questioned why she had set up her camera to film herself if she truly had flight anxiety, as she claimed.
Another point that tickled viewers was her noting that when her pinky is up, that meant she was “really scared”.
Victim on SQ321 turbulence incident
On Jan. 15, Mia posted a clarification video saying that her scream and flight anxiety were real.
She explained that she had previously been a passenger on the SQ321 flight that encountered severe turbulence in 2024.
The incident left one 73-year-old British man dead and more than 100 passengers injured.
Mia said that she was in the bathroom at the time of the incident and fractured her spine.
She backed up her account with photos of her spine X-ray as well as images of herself in the hospital.
Screenshot from _youmia/TikTok
Screenshot from _youmia/TikTok
“In my head, I couldn’t even register it as turbulence, I thought the plane was really going down,” she said.
The SQ321 flight had dropped approximately 54 metres in less than five seconds.
Mia said this experience left her “so paranoid” about the sensation of the plane dipping during turbulence, which led her to scream during her most recent flight.
Screenshot from _youmia/TikTok
She added that fear of flying is a real issue and asked viewers not to be “so quick to judge”.
“I don’t think we should invalidate anyone’s fear just because we don’t relate, and fear looks different for everyone,” she said.
Mia also clarified that she edited and posted the original video because she thought it was funny, but acknowledged that she may have cut out too much footage, which led people to think it was fake.
Some still not convinced
Despite Mia’s explanation, some comments continued to express disbelief over her scream.
One commenter said that she also had flight anxiety but does not “scream [her] lungs out” like Mia did.
However, there were also supportive comments, as well as those who called out others for being too “cruel” and “mean”.
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Top photos from _youmia/TikTok
