The headline writer has to accurately represent what is in the story. With this in mind it still has to be attention grabbing and normally the journalist who reports on the incident doesn't write the headline.
If I was scared of flying and was later interviewed a journalist could accurately say 'a terrified passenger'. If I was concerned about putting on an oxygen mask one could say there was 'panic'. Panic could simply be an alarming feeling many passengers experienced. The signs of panic actually displayed is left open to reader interpretation but in the strict sense reporting it is accurate.