Fire on Plane Highlights Airline Battery Safety Concerns
- Recent incidents involving dropped laptops have caused pilots to divert or turn around flights.
- The article details two recent United Airlines flights that were affected by passengers dropping their laptops.
- These incidents highlight the danger of lithium-ion batteries in laptops overheating and perhaps causing fires,and why electronic devices are not allowed in checked baggage.
Here’s a summary of the article:
Recent incidents involving dropped laptops have caused pilots to divert or turn around flights.
The article details two recent United Airlines flights that were affected by passengers dropping their laptops. In the first instance, a flight U-turned over the Atlantic because a laptop fell into the cargo hold, creating a potential fire hazard that couldn’t be monitored. The second incident involved a flight from London to Washington D.C. where a laptop was dropped, but was retrieved and the flight continued after inspection.
These incidents highlight the danger of lithium-ion batteries in laptops overheating and perhaps causing fires,and why electronic devices are not allowed in checked baggage.