A laptop fire on a passenger plane prompted a dramatic emergency evacuation Friday. American Airlines Flight 2045 was preparing to fly from San Francisco to Miami when the cabin began filling with smoke — coming from a laptop bag in the back of the plane. With the plane still on the tarmac, only three minor injuries were sustained in the rush to get off the plane via a jetway and slide. However, one passenger had to be taken for further treatment.
“Don’t take your bags!” This is tense. Fire breaks out on American Airlines flight in San Francisco. Emergency evacuation slowed by selfish passengers who insisted on taking their bags from overhead racks. pic.twitter.com/O9T012kJWTJuly 13, 2024
American Airlines’ statement, as reported CBS Newssays that “the bag was quickly removed by crew members and all customers were allowed to leave the aircraft.” The airline also apologized for the inconvenience caused to its customers and thanked its staff for handling the situation professionally. The Twitter/X video above shows how tense and frightening the situation was for some passengers.
We reviewed several reports about the American Airlines laptop fire but could not find any sources that provided more detailed information about the laptop model or why it spontaneously combusted.
Current airline regulations state that laptops should be carried in carry-on luggage only and have batteries of 100Wh or less. That’s why we see workstation-style laptops often boasting a 99Wh battery. However, up to two additional batteries of up to 160Wh are permitted with airline approval.
These battery-limiting regulations began to be implemented around the world in the overdue 2000s, as we began to see the dangers in the desire for high-capacity, high-power-density batteries. Lithium batteries, used in devices like smartphones, tablets, portable gaming consoles, and laptops, have been behind many reports of failing technology over the past few decades.
Dangerous devices are often recalled after a compact period of availability, but in the meantime they may have caused grave fires or even explosions. A quick search through the Tom’s Hardware archives will turn up plenty of examples. Perhaps the most renowned “accidentally combusting” electronic device is a smartphone, the Samsung Galaxy Note 7.
Returning to the story of the American Airlines evacuation, one passenger wondered about the probable cause of the fire on the plane. “Sometimes they get hot” if you close the device, but they don’t sleep properly or shut down, the passenger wondered, CBS reported.
I had a grave problem with my Dell Latitude overheating and not going into sleep mode or shutting down when I closed the lid – but I noticed this before there was a lot of smoke (or fire) thanks to the mighty smell of burning plastic. The battery in this device could be quickly removed using a sliding mechanism, but it couldn’t be reused because the keyboard keys had melted.
