On Monday night, after a flight from New Orleans landed at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, a fire broke out on a mobile phone in the cabin of an Alaska Airlines plane, forcing passengers to evacuate urgently.
No one was seriously injured in the incident. According to reports, this phone is Samsung Galaxy A21.
“I can tell you that the phone was burned beyond recognition,” Port of Seattle spokesman Perry Cooper said in a statement to GeekWire. “However, during an interview with a police officer in our Port of Seattle, the passenger voluntarily stated that the phone is a Samsung Galaxy A21. Similarly, we cannot confirm this by looking at the wreckage of the device.”
Alaska Airlines said that shortly after the plane landed and waited for the boarding gate, a passenger’s mobile phone overheated and started to sparkles.
“The crew acted quickly, using fire extinguishers and Battery storage bag Stop cellphone smoking,” a spokesperson said in a statement to GeekWire. “Due to the dim conditions in the cabin, the crew deployed an evacuation slide. “
The plane carried 129 passengers and 6 crew members. Sea-Tac Airport said on Twitter that passengers were transported to the terminal by bus and reported minor scratches and bruises. Alaska said the two passengers were treated at the district hospital.
The initial tweet stated that the fire occurred in the cargo hold, but was corrected to the cabin in subsequent tweets.
Earlier tonight, POSFD responded to a report of a fire in the cargo compartment of Alaska Airlines Flight 751. Upon arrival, the fire was under control, and the passengers and crew were evacuated from the plane. (1/2) pic.twitter.com/rY2cFgrmUH
— Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (@flySEA) August 24, 2021
Passengers were transported to the terminal by bus, and some suffered minor injuries. The aircraft was towed to the gate, and airport operations were not affected. (2/2)
— Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (@flySEA) August 24, 2021
A passenger tweeted She was sitting in front of the two or three rows where the phone was on fire, and she said it was “like a fog machine.” She added that the flight attendants “do a great job and all passengers are very calm.”
Cooper said it has no impact on the operation of the airport.
GeekWire has contacted Samsung for comments, and we will update this story when we receive a response. In 2016, the consumer electronics giant carried out a global recall of its Galaxy Note 7 smartphones, saying that after investigating reports of some devices exploding or burning while charging, it found a “battery problem”.