A passenger was injured when her battery-powered headphones caught fire during a flight from Beijing to Melbourne.
The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) has issued a warning regarding bettery-powered headphones, after a female passenger was injured when her pair caught fire mid-flight. The incident took place on a flight from Beijing to Melbourne on 19th February 2017.
The woman was sleeping when she heard a loud explosion. She told the ATSB, she then felt her face burn, before the headphones slipped around her neck.
After the injured woman threw the noise-cancelling headphones on the floor, flight attendants responded quickly throwing them into a bucket of water. The ATSB has not yet revealed the brand of headphones.
Smoke and the smell of burnt hair and electronics filled the cabin. It was reported that passengers were coughing and choking for the remainder 9-hours of the flight.
The ATSB says passengers using battery-powered devices should adhere to the following guidelines:
- devices should be kept in an approved stowage, unless in use
- spare batteries must be in your carry-on baggage, not checked baggage
- locate devices 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.
Last year, faulty batteries in Samsung’s Note 7 smartphone, caused many to overheat and catch fire. Aviation authorities worldwide were forced to ban the device from planes. Soon after, the Note 7 was recalled by Samsung and production has since been terminated.
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