A woman suffered burns on her face and neck after her headphones burst during a flight from Bejing to Sydney. Officials said on Wednesday that battery operated devices are dangerous on planes.
The girl was listening to music on her phone during the flight and she dozed off. A while later a small explosion was heard on the flight.
The passenger told the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) which investigated the incident, “As I went to turn around I felt burning on my face”.
“I just grabbed my face which caused the headphones to go around my neck. I continued to feel burning so I grabbed them off and threw them on the floor. They were sparking and had small amounts of fire.”
“As I went to stamp my foot on them the flight attendants were already there with a bucket of water to pour on them. They put them into the bucket at the rear of the plane.”
The passenger, who suffered burns to the face and hand, said “People were coughing and choking the entire way home,” as the smell of melted plastic, burnt electronics, and burnt hair filled the aircraft.
A statement from the ATSB has been issued reminding passengers using battery-powered devices that:
- batteries should be kept in an approved storage, unless in use
spare batteries must be in your carry-on baggage NOT checked baggage - if a passenger’s smartphone or other device has fallen into the seat gap, locate their device before moving powered seats
- if a passenger cannot locate their device, they should refrain from moving their seat and immediately contact a cabin crew member
There have been several incidents involving lithium batteries, in one incident smoke was seen coming from a passenger’s hand luggage. It was later found that lithium batteries had ignited.
The transport safety bureau, which did not identify which airline was involved, assessed that the lithium-ion batteries in the device likely caught fire.
The ATSB declined to reveal the brand of the headphones, saying all batteries are potentially risky.
Also, last year many airlines banned all Samsung Galaxy Note 7 smartphones over fire risk concerns, following reports of exploding batteries.
