Asian culture related?
Don’t know.
I’ve read ancient Asian texts that tell you to grab your bags before leaving a crashed aircraft, so you are probably correct. It’s in the I Ching.
“Asian culture related?”
Save the cameras...
Did anyone grab a live chicken?
After having served many years in Asia as a missionary, I would agree that the fatalism in the Asian culture does have something to do with this.
Still, at the beginning of each flight, passengers are instructed that in the case of emergency egress, carry-on items are to be left behind.
Carry-on items can become obstructions to orderly egress.