That is a possibility, or..
a) The a/c is ditching: panic, confusion, get it on any old way..
b) The safety brief
wasn't given/received as it was intended..
Either way, the pax managed to exit with the bouyancy device, so regardless, something worked, whether that was the crew shepherding out the door, or the pax next to him trying to help.
Most who fly so often consider it as a bus ride from A-B and are enthralled in a book/sleeping/working and praying that they get home early, and really don't care about much else.
Flight is the safest form of travel....
Based on real statistics, you would have to fly 24 hours a day for 400 years before being involved in a fatal accident.
The chances of it really are slim.
Edited to add, or just once on your first flight, bit like crossing the road for the first time...