Raw Data - you may well be right although in that case the captain needs to do some work on his people management and communication skills. The fact that some passengers refused to fly on an airworthy plane seems to indicate that he didn't manage their concerns effectively.
Use of appropriate language can do a lot in these circumstances. I cannot remember how many planes I have been on with technical delays but I have never known panic as reported here. I was on a plane with cabin airpressure problems (far more concerning than this problem I would have thought) but we eventually departed with all the passengers.
Something along the lines of telling SLF there was a minor problem with a suspension indicator light and that he was confident that the plane was still safe but he wasn't going to take any risks no matter how small, may have worked better than letting people believe that they were on a plane which thought it was airborne when it was parked!