With respect, it's not about communication at all, it's about
managing passengers expectations
I will ignore Zebedies post which also heaps blame on the hapless Pax, but this one quoted below takes the cake:
Sometimes British passengers can just be a total embarrassment. All this alarm probably came from one or two passenger 'loudmouths' egging the others on. The scenes of hysteria must have been excrutiating. Fuel draining out of vents is a not uncommon event.
I know that Sunshine, and you know it, as do many others.
The point is that the passengers don't know its not uncommon do they?????
If I was a Pax and I saw something that to me was unusual and, in my ignorance, potentially life threatening, what do you bloody expect me to do?
The smartest pilots take the trouble to manage their passengers expectations, by telling them as early as possible what is happening and why. It's difficult to know if this problem could be foreseen, but a simple message in advance to the effect that "You may see some fuel coming out of the wing vents, this is normal and not hazardous" and no problem.
It's quite easy to drive a passenger into hysterics very quickly if they don't know whats going on, as thoughtless gits in Cessna's pointing to the red "wing release button" can testify.